Time off for Good Behavior
by AshleySue
Summary: Sookie Stackhouse, a case worker at a halfway house, takes on the case of Eric Northman, a recently paroled man with a dark past. She takes it upon herself to help him heal his long neglected emotional wounds. AH, AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**This first chapter is pretty short. I just wanted to get the ball rolling, and then I'll really dive in and get things moving starting tomorrow. Enjoy!!!

As I walked from my office to the conference room for our weekly staff meeting, I went over my mental checklist of things to establish with a new case. It had been quite some time since we had any new residents, and I wanted to make sure I would be thorough with my new assignee. I had only been working at Hope House, the state run halfway house in Shreveport, Louisiana for 6 months. Before that, I'd been doing the same thing in New York, but, some unfortunate events made it necessary for me to go back to where I grew up. In the time I'd been here, I had been assigned five parolees to work with. Four of them had been released from the halfway house about a week ago, and three were thriving. One still had two more months in our facility to go, but, sadly, the fifth had already landed himself back in prison. A 75% success rate, in my field, is pretty good, especially when compared to New York. But, I never got used to having someone go back to their troubled ways.

I arrived at the conference room, noticed that I was the last to arrive, and took a seat so the meeting could begin. My boss, Sam Merlotte, had been a close friend of mine all growing up. I felt very comfortable around him, and we had a great working relationship.

"Alright everyone, since we're all here let's go ahead and get started," Sam said, calling the meeting to order. "Now as I'm sure you all have heard, Faith House has been having some problems, so, the state parole board is going to start sending all new cases our direction." Faith House, the only other halfway house in the area, had been embroiled in scandal recently. It was front page news when the state attorney's office announced that they had discovered two of the case workers there were using their parolees to peddle drugs and prostitutes for them. The two case workers in question were fired from their jobs, and promptly arrested. The state had decided not to shut down the entire facility because they didn't have a place for the other 25 current residents, but, they felt it would be prudent to stop sending new residents there until things calmed down.

"The prison escort will be here in an hour or so with 5 new residents for us, and, since we have 6 case workers, it's been decided that Sookie, Amelia, Hoyt, Tara and I will each take on one new resident, and since Holly already has three with her right now, she'll just stick with those. I've got files here on all of the newbies, so let me pass them out, and I expect you to be familiar with your new case by the time the prison bus gets here in 2 hours. Let's see, Amelia, you will be working with Terry Bellefleur, Hoyt you can take JB Durone, Tara can have Lafayette Reynolds, and Sookie, you can take Eric Northman." He handed each of us the file on our new case, and said that we were free to go back to our offices to prepare for our new assignees. I opened the folder containing the information on Eric Northman, and I immediately stood, walked to Sam, and said, "Oh no you don't, Sam Merlotte. I am **not** taking this guy! When I agreed to come help you out I told you **no violent crimes."**

"Sookie, I know. But, you're the only one who's been state certified to be able to handle this type of case. I didn't have much of a choice, here. Besides, even though the clinical side of the crime looks violent, it actually wasn't. I swear this one's different."

"Fine, I'll meet with him and see how it goes. But in a week's time if I don't feel completely comfortable, he **will** be reassigned to you, got it?" I didn't wait for a reply, I just went straight back to my office. I sat down and opened up the file in front of me, and began learning everything I could about Eric Northman. He was 35 years old, and had been living in Louisiana for the past 10 years. He'd been born and raised in Sweden at a US Air Force base. His mother had died of breast cancer 15 years ago, and his father had suffered a fatal heart attacked four years later. He was an only child, and his only living family was some distant cousins living on the West Coast somewhere. He'd spent the past five years in Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary near the Louisiana-Mississippi border. He was sentenced to 5-7 years for First Degree Manslaughter for shooting a man 10 times in a parking lot. Sure, Sam, not violent, huh? How could shooting someone ten times be considered Manslaughter and not murder? But, as I continued reading, I discovered **exactly** why that was. The man he had shot had just received a tiny slap on the wrist for a terrible crime, simply because he was a trust-fund baby and his daddy had been able to use some political clout. The man that Northman had shot had been driving 100 miles an hour down the wrong side of the interstate, his blood alcohol level five times the legal limit. He had hit a minivan head on, killing Northman's wife, 3 year old daughter, and 9 month old son. Oh boy, this was going to be a difficult case to take on.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/NI am so overwhelmed by the response to this story. I can only hope that I don't disappoint! I meant to have this chapter up about 12 hours ago, but, I've rewritten it like 20 times. For some reason, Eric kept coming off as whiny, and let's face it, that's just not him.**

I was still sitting at my desk, going over the file and adding some notes about my new case on my laptop 2 ½ hours later when there was a knock on my door. I stood, straightened my blouse, and went to answer. There stood John Quinn, the head of security for Hope House. He was in charge of escorting all new residents to their first meeting with their case workers, and monitoring the home's many security cameras for any trouble. He was very good at his job, and was very respected by the rest of the staff. He also just happened to be the man I'd been dating since shortly after my arrival in Louisiana.

"Afternoon, Sookie." He took a step into my office and gestured for the man who'd been standing next to him to enter as well. "Mr. Northman, this is Miss Stackhouse, and she will be your case worker for the endurance of your stay here. You are to follow all instructions she gives you to the letter. Disobeying your case worker could result in the revocation of your parole." Quinn was all business. He was one of the main reasons case workers applied for employment here instead of at Faith House.

"Thank you, Quinn. Mr. Northman, please have a seat." I gestured for him to sit at a chair in front of my desk, which he did in silence, and I gave Quinn a small smile, he winked at me and left my office, shutting the door behind him.

As I moved back around my desk, I began taking in the sight of Eric Northman. He had to be at least 6'4", and had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He had a small amount of stubble on his chin, as if he hadn't shaved in a day or two. Before he was transported from the prison to Hope House, he was allowed to change into street clothes. He was wearing dark blue jeans, a deep green short-sleeve t-shirt and dark brown boots.

"Alright, Mr. Northman, let's get started. As Quinn told you, I am Sookie Stackhouse, and I will be your case worker here. You and I will meet on a daily basis for the next few weeks. Let's start with the general rules, shall we? While you are here at Hope House, you will be expected to follow these rules to the letter. We have a curfew of 8pm every evening, and you will be expected to be here by that time for a room check. The only exception to this is if it relates to employment, and it must be approved by me and confirmed with your employer beforehand. Between the hours of 9pm and 5am we are in lockdown here, which means, no one enters, no one leaves. Security personnel are here during those hours, and the 6 case workers rotate, having 2 on-duty every night. You will be required to find employment. Now, normally, you must have gained employment within 2 weeks, or risk getting sent back to prison. However, with the economy being the way it is, and the unemployment rates being so high, I'm a lot more lenient right now. As long as you can show that you've been putting forth an honest effort to get a job, I'll give you extra time. I'm assuming Quinn already showed you your personal sleeping quarters?" I waited for a moment while he simply gave a silent affirmative nod. "Good. Every resident here has their own private room, and we do not tolerate residents being in the rooms of others, for any reason. There are plenty of common areas around, so there is no need for it. There are 15 rooms total here, divided up into 5 areas with 3 rooms each. Each area has a bathroom assigned to it, with two shower stalls, two toilets and two sinks. All residents will be in charge of keeping their area bathroom cleaned at all times. If there is ever a maintenance or plumbing issue with your bathroom, you will need to report it to the front desk immediately. In addition to a bathroom, each area has a small kitchen area. Each resident has their own cabinet assigned to them for food storage, and if you feel the need to have your locked, we'd be more than happy to provide you with a combination lock. No food is to leave the kitchen and common areas. Drinks are the only food or beverage item allowed in individual bedrooms. There is to be no alcohol or drug use while you are in this facility. You will have no medications in your individual room, including over the counter. We have a medical office on the main floor, and have a registered nurse on duty 24 hours a day. If you need any type of over the counter medication, you will need to see the nurse about it. If at any point in time you are in need of prescription medications, those will be kept in my office, and you may get your daily dosage from me. If I am not available when you are to take your medication, security personnel will get it for you. As well as meeting with me on a daily basis, you will also have a group meeting twice weekly. You are required to attend all meetings, and be punctual. I won't force anyone to participate; however, I will **not** tolerate disruptions of any kind. If you don't want to talk, fine, don't. But you will not ridicule someone who does. Any questions?"

I will admit, most people at this point look overwhelmed and a little shocked. But, not Eric Northman. He just raised one eyebrow, looked at me and said, "Nope."

"Alright then. Let's get down to brass tax then. As you know, the state parole board has decided that you have been rehabilitated enough to begin to re-enter society. My job is to help make that a smooth transition. My number one goal is to ensure that you being out in the world again is not going to be a danger to others, or to yourself. I take this job very seriously. I work hard, and it's rare that I have a repeat offender. I will not hesitate to send you right back, though, if I feel you're dangerous. That being said, I don't like having people arrested. If I wanted to get people arrested, I would've been a cop. I'm not. I'm more interested in helping you in any way I can to make sure that you are able to go back to functioning in the real world. In order for me to best help you, I need for you to be completely honest with me. Anything that we discuss will be completely confidential. If at any time you feel you have questions, you can come and speak with me. I do have one other resident I'm working with right now, so, if you need to see me, please feel free to come to my office. There is a small red light just outside my office door. If, for some reason, I am not available to meet with you, that light will be on. I'd ask that you respect that. Just as I would not allow others to interrupt you when we're meeting, I wouldn't want you to do the same to anyone else."

I stood and grabbed a list from the top of my filing cabinet. "I have here a list of employers in the area who have been helping in assisting our residents to get back on their feet as far as employment goes. I can help you to find a good, decent job. Tell me, what was your occupation before your incarceration, Mr. Northman?"

"I owned and ran my own business."

"And after your incarceration, is this business still in your name?"

"Of course. What's mine is mine, nothing changes that." Smug idiot.

"And would working there again follow the current guidelines of your parole?"

"Well, considering that it's a bar and night club, I'd have to go with no on that."

"Listen, Northman, I suggest you reign that attitude right back in. Without my approval, you'll be headed straight back to prison for the remaining 2 years of your sentence. The world already has enough egotistical pricks in it; I won't be sending another one into it's midst." He smirked, and tilted his head slightly in acknowledgement of what I was telling him. Play nice, or go back to Angola.

"Now, that being said, why are you here?"

He gave a patronizing look, once again raising that eyebrow, as if to say, duh, isn't it obvious? "I'm here because the parole board told me to be."

"Sorry, wrong answer. Why are you here?" I could tell I'd thrown him off a little with this.

"I'm here because I don't want to be in prison any longer."

"Come on, Northman. I can tell that you're got a brain in there somewhere, use it. **Why. Are. You. Here?"**

I saw his eyes darken and his expression tighten slightly, and he said, "I'm here because I decided that the world would be a safer place without Drew Marshall in it." There we go, now he was headed in the right direction.

"And why is that?"

"Because the world is terrifying enough without having someone like him roaming free. Someone who thinks that their wants are the only thing that matters. Someone that thinks that just because he doesn't want to leave his car overnight in a bar parking lot, it's okay to jump behind the wheel, even after having single-handedly consumed a bottle and a half of Jim Beam."

"As opposed to someone who unloads ten bullets into a 22 year old boy's chest?"

"He deserved much worse than he got. He **gave** much worse than he got."

"Meaning what? He caused someone's death, and then someone caused his."

He was getting really angry now. He stood up so quickly that the chair he was sitting in fell backwards. "Because when I shot him I made certain that his death wasn't a prolonged experience. I aimed right for his heart so he would die as quickly as possible. Unlike what he did to my little girl, who suffered very much. My wife and my son were killed immediately, but my daughter was still alive when the ambulance showed up. It took 4 firemen 3 hours to cut her tiny body from the wreckage. She was awake and crying during the entire ordeal, only to die from blood loss ten minutes before they got her out. But because that asshole's daddy played golf with the Governor, he had his license suspended and had to do some community service and attend AA meetings." I saw his knuckles turn white as he gripped the edge of my desk, breathing heavily, looking as if he was trying very hard to calm himself down. He stood like that for a few brief moments, then returned his gaze to me, and said, "We're done here for now." Without a response from me, he walked to the door and exited my office.

I phone down to Quinn at the security post in the lobby and told him that Eric had left my office upset, and that I would come down and watch the security cameras with him to see how Eric reacted, but that I wanted Quinn to keep an eye on him until I got there, just in case. I picked back up the chair Eric had knocked over, and grabbed his file and a pen, and went to join Quinn at the security desk. When he saw me approach, he just raised his eyebrows and smiled lightly. "Another successful first meeting, huh?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** ** I just wanted to point out that, yes, this story will eventually have some ESN. However, it's going to take a while before they get to that point. Sookie's dating Quinn, and she doesn't want to risk her job, and well, let's face it, Eric's kind of broken right now. Enjoy!**

EPOV

I stormed out of the office in a complete rage. For the past 5 years I've worked so hard at pushing my anger down far enough so it wouldn't erupt like that. I told myself that I just wouldn't think about them anymore. I just needed to not think about them. Not think about the pain and fear they suffered. Not think about how difficult it was to breathe just knowing they were gone. Damnit Northman, pull your head out and get it together! You have to control yourself.

I made my way back to the area that Quinn had shown me to earlier. At the end of the hallway that housed my bedroom, and shared kitchen and bathroom, was a small courtyard in the middle of the building. I opened the door, and stepped out into the fresh air, and took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. I paced back and forth, repeating the words I've been saying to myself every day for the past 5 years. 'You have no emotions.' If I could convince myself that I didn't feel anything, then the pain would be gone.

I sat down at a picnic-style table in the middle of the courtyard. Since it was the beginning of fall, there was a slight chill in the air, but, it was pleasant. I leaned forward and rested my head in my hands, trying to block the pictures of my family from my mind. I don't know how long I sat there, but it was long enough for me to get completely lost in my thoughts and forget my surroundings entirely. I was pulled back to reality by the sound of a throat being cleared. I looked up to see Miss Stackhouse standing on the other side of the table, a large pizza box in one hand, and a six-pack of Dr. Pepper in the other.

"I've made a little tradition of buying my new residents dinner their first night here. Normally, I go all out, but, since you acted so inappropriately before, and stormed out of my office so rudely, I figured pizza and soda was the most you'd deserved."

"I'm sorry; **I'm** the one who acted inappropriately? You provoked me."

"That's my job, Mr. Northman."

Oh, this was really rich. "Somehow I doubt that the state of Louisiana pays you to provoke people and pick fights."

"No, what they pay me for is to assess how you will react to regular everyday people making light of your situation. If I was just another guy at your bar, and 'provoked' you, as you like to say, like that, would you have just walked away, or would you have hit me? Those are the type of things I need to find out before I decide if I recommend you for release. Now, do you want some pizza or not?"

As much as I wanted to further this little 'discussion,' I had to admit that I **was** pretty hungry, and, well hell, it's been years since I've had a good pizza. So, I nodded to her, and she sat down across from me. She put the pizza box down and opened it up, and my stomach grumbled loudly as the aroma of pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, olives, onions and green peppers hit me. It was mouth-watering. She handed me a napkin and a cold soda, and put a folder and a pen on the table in front of her.

"Now, since we didn't have the opportunity to finish taking care of some things earlier, we'll have to make this a business dinner." She did this sort of half-laugh thing when she spoke, like she thought very highly of her own sense of humor. I found it to be endearing, but was **not** about to let her see that.

"And, just why should you be the one asking all the questions? Don't I get to know anything about you?"

"Ya know, other than what hours I'm in my office, ya really don't."

"Well, I wouldn't say that's very fair."

"True. However, **I'm** not the one on parole for manslaughter."

Touché. "Yes, but, you said that this would work best if I was honest and open with you. I don't know about you, but I was raised to believe that trust and respect are earned, not given freely." She pondered this for a moment while chewing on a piece of pizza.

"Fair enough. I'll tell you what. For every question I ask you, you can ask me one. However, I will only answer personal questions if they pertain to our working relationship." Who did this woman think she was? She was attempting to bull-shit a world class bull-shitter. Fine. This should be fun.

"Alright. But since you got so much information out of me earlier, shouldn't I get to go first?"

"Sure, go ahead," she said, taking another bite of pizza and sipping at her soda.

"How long have you been a halfway house case worker?"

"I have been here at Hope House for the past 6 months. And before that I worked for the same type of facility in Brooklyn for 6 years." Hmmm, interesting. She didn't seem like a New Yorker.

"My turn. While you were in prison, who was running your business for you?"

I guess that hoping she wouldn't ask questions that would make me think about my family was purely wishful thinking. "Pam."

She raised her eyebrows and looked at me, waiting for further information. I didn't give any.

"Okay, and who is Pam?"

"Pam is Cindy's……she's my late wife's twin sister."

"Oh, I see. Identical twins?"

"No, fraternal. My turn. What kind of educational background do you have that makes you qualified for this position?" Why did I suddenly sound like I was interviewing a perspective employee?

"I did a double major in college and received a Bachelor's degree in both Criminal Justice and Sociology from LSU, and then got my Master's in Social Work from NYU." Wow, I had to admit, I was impressed. Not that I'd let** her** see that.

"Was Pam in business with you before your incarceration?"

"Yes, she was. She's been co-owner of the club since about 9 months after it opened." I was about to move into asking her another question, but she held up to finger, indicating she wanted me to wait for just a moment.

"I have a follow-up question to go with that, so you'll have to wait. After you were incarcerated, did she just assume your responsibilities and add them to hers?"

"More or less, yes. The majority of what she and I had been doing was administrative; however, if we were in a bind, I would also help out with security and bar tending. She did not assume those responsibilities, but hired someone else for it." I really hoped she would move on to a different subject. Talking about Pam just made me think about Cindy. "Why did you move to Shreveport?"

"That's not pertinent."

"Then let me rephrase. When you left your position in New York, why did you choose this particular facility?"

"Well, I grew up not far from here. When I left my job in New York, I came here for personal reasons because I had family here. Sam, Merlotte, the Director of Hope House, was a good friend of mine growing up. As soon as he knew I was going to be in town, he made all sorts of arrangements to help me choose to stay."

"When you say 'administrative duties' about your club, what exactly does that mean? Could you give me a few specific examples?"

"Well, I would handle payroll, accounting, marketing and advertising, and all human resources issues."

She held up her hand again before I had a chance to ask her another question. "Now, is that something that you could do during the day, or would it require for you to be away after lock-down?"

"Well, the club doesn't open until 9pm most nights, but, I could get the majority of things done during the day, and just have Pam finish up for me later after the other employees arrive."

She nodded her head and made a few notes while continuing to nibble on her pizza, and sip her soda. I had never seen a woman make such a dainty little meal out of food like this.

"My turn again?" She nodded and continued writing.

"Are you married?" Her pen immediately froze, and she looked at me with pure annoyance in her eyes.

"That is not pertinent."

"I beg to differ. If you would like for me to be able to open up to you about the loss of my wife and children, I would like to know if you are married and have any children yourself." She seemed to consider this for a moment.

"No husband, no kids." She looked back down and resumed writing.

Even though we hadn't covered much information, we had been sitting there eating and talking for around two hours. I was just about to ask her another question, when Quinn came into the courtyard.

"Babe, I'm ready to do room check whenever you are." Babe, huh? Did this mean they were an item? I couldn't see what someone was obviously intelligent as Miss Stackhouse would be doing with a mindless drone like Quinn.

"Yup, just let me drop this file off at my office." She turned her gaze from her paperwork to me. "I'm one of the two on-duty case workers tonight, so I have to go around with security for the room check to make sure everyone is accounted for. For the remainder of the evening, I'll most likely either be in my office or down at the security desk. If you need anything, just let me know, okay." She stood to leave, and as she turned to walk away, she placed her hand on my shoulder, and two of her fingers lay against the bare flesh of my neck. "I'm hoping that I can be of some help to you, Eric. Please, let me know if you need anything."

As she and Quinn walked away, I wondered whether or not I was the only one who felt a little shock when her fingers touched me. Yeah, probably. I mean, she's fairly attractive, so chances are if she's not with Quinn, she's with someone. Plus, I'm the one who hasn't had any pleasant physical contact with a woman in almost 6 years. It had to have just been that I'm fucking horny.


	4. Chapter 4

SPOV

As I walked from the courtyard in Eric's living area back to my office with Quinn, I could feel the anger growing inside of me to a boiling point. I'd be lucky if we were in my office with the door closed before I exploded. I clinched hard at the file folder and pen in my hand, and instinctively knew the pen was getting close to breaking. Just in time, we reached my office. We walked in, and the moment I had the door shut behind us, I let him have it.

"Damnit, Quinn, how dare you?!? You know I enjoy spending time with you, but, if you **ever** disrespect me like that again, you'll be lucky if I don't have Sam fire you!"

The ignorant ass had the gall to look confused. "What are you talking about? What did I do?"

"Oh, Quinn, come on. You called me 'babe' in front of a resident. First off, you know I absolutely **hate** being called that, and second, we're at work. You know the rules, when we're here; you need to keep your actions towards me strictly professional. I don't mind joking around and being friendly, but, nothing beyond that. It's hard enough to get these guys to trust and respect me, without the head of security demeaning my position."

"Aww, Sook, come on. You know that wasn't my intention."

"Of course I know that. Because if it **had** been your intention, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Instead, you would be down at the security desk sulking about being dumped. Have I made my point?"

"Yeah, fine. You don't have to be a bitch about it."

I was so enraged, I literally had to curl my fingers and dig my nails into my own palms to keep from hitting him. "Apparently I do."

"Ya know what, you go ahead and get back to eating pizza with Mr. Tall, Handsome and **Deadly**. I'll have Hoyt do room check with me tonight." He walked to the door, flung it open, and stopped in his tracks. His bulky form took up so much of the door frame, I couldn't see what made him stop. I just heard him mutter "figures," underneath his breath, and then step into the hallway. That's when I noticed Eric Northman standing there, eyebrow raised with a slight smirk.

"Oh dear, did I interrupt something?" His words didn't match his tone. He sounded positively gleeful.

"I'm not in the mood for your attitude, Northman. What did you need?"

"Well, first things first. May I come in?" That's when I noticed he hadn't yet entered my office. I briefly thought of how nice it was of him to ask, and made a motion for him to come in. "Now, are you alright? It sounded like the two of you were having a bit of a….._heated_ discussion." I was about to tell him to get out, but, I could tell by the look on his face that he truly was genuinely concerned about whether or not I was alright. Wow, that was different. **Especially** coming from one of my residents.

"I'm fine, thank you. Just a little…..perturbed. How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know that Mr. Security-Man thinks you're a bitch for calling him on his inappropriate behavior." As embarrassed as I was that he'd heard that much, I had to stifle a giggle at Eric calling Quinn Mr. Security-Man. He continued, "And I have to admit, I do believe that this is the first time I've ever heard another man call me handsome. Which, I believe is saying something considering I've just spent the past five years in prison."

"Oh, really? Please don't take offense to this, but, you **do** seem like the kinda guy who'd have to fight off potential suitors behind bars. How'd you manage to not get hit on?"

"Well, considering that the first three and a half years that I was there, I was in solitary on suicide watch…."

I could tell that I'd hit a nerve, and I didn't mean to. I felt horrible, but I could tell that apologizing for it at this moment wouldn't be the right thing to do. Instead, I decided on a quick change of subject. "Well, since you're the one who came to see me, what can I do for you?"

"Well, to be honest, I was kind of wondering about the other resident that I'm supposed to be sharing my area with. Since it's after 9pm, I figured he'd be there so I could introduce myself."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I completely forgot to talk to you about that. You will be sharing your area with a young man named Barry. He's in his early twenties, and he's a real sweet kid. He's quite naïve though."

"Okay. This should be interesting. Um, but where is he?"

"Well, he is actually out for the evening." I could tell that this threw him off.

"How is that possible? I thought that everyone has to be here by 9pm or a warrant immediately gets issued?"

"Well, yes, technically that's the deal. But, honestly, this was a time when we decided to make an exception." I could see the skepticism on his face. "Barry has never actually been to prison. His entire sentence has been carried out here. He's a first time offender, and was only an accessory to a crime. He's been an exemplary resident while he's been here. His sister got engaged a few months ago, and her fiancé is being deployed to Afghanistan in two weeks, so they're having the wedding tonight. We put a monitoring ankle-bracelet on him, and he has a plain-clothes officer covering him."

He sat silently in thought for a moment. "Yeah, I think that'd be the right thing to do."

"Oh, well, Mr. Northman, I'm so relieved that I have your approval…" I said sarcastically. He looked taken aback for a moment, and then burst into laughter.

"Well, I guess that since I asked about Barry, that would mean it's your turn to ask something of me, correct?" I was intrigued. He wanted to continue getting to know each other. I could tell that he wasn't the type to open up freely, especially considering what he's been through. I knew that I would be a fool not to take this opportunity to prove to him that he can trust me to help him.

"Well, let me clarify some boundaries here. Are you at all comfortable talking about your family?" I saw him flinch when I said this. I knew this was a touchy subject, and I didn't want to broach it too early and have him retreat back into his protective shell.

"You can ask. I'll try to answer. I can't guarantee anything beyond that," he said while looking down at his hands.

"How did you and your wife meet?"

He grinned and gave a small chuckle. "As I'm sure my file says, I was born and raised in Sweden. My Dad was a mechanic with the Air Force, and he was stationed there. Well, Pam and Cindy's Dad was a pilot. We lived a few houses away from each other on base. Their Mom wasn't so happy with the way her life was going, and, she left them. Their Dad knew he wouldn't be very good at raising two daughters on his own, so, they spent a lot of time at our place. We were pretty good friends all growing up. I never thought of Cindy as anything more. I even dated Pam in high school." He closed his eyes for a moment, and seemed to be concentrating hard on something. "My Mom died when I was 19, and, after that, I moved to New Orleans. It had been a while since I'd seen Cindy and Pam, because their Dad had been transferred when we were 17. I ran into Pam one day at a grocery store, and we got to chatting, and, I told her I'd love to have her and Cindy over for dinner. After that night, Cindy and I were pretty damn inseparable. She'd been in a pretty serious relationship about a year before this, and, although it was over, she'd had a little baby girl, Lizzie. The day Cindy and I got married, I signed adoption papers and made Lizzie **my** little girl." He stopped speaking, and I could see his hands ball into fists. I knew I had to try and break the tension.

"Your turn. Go ahead and ask me anything. I'll even answer some personal questions." His eyebrow shot up with that statement. "Well, **within reason** anyway." He smiled and laughed. I like the way his eyes lifted when he laughed. It was encouraging.

"What made you choose this profession?" Wow. I know he didn't realize he was asking something all that personal, but boy was he. Should I tell him? Aww, hell, if I want him to trust me, I'd better try to show him I trust him, too.

"When I was 7 and my older brother Jason was 9, my parents were killed in a small plane crash, along with my Dad's sister and her husband. They had one child, Hadley, and since we were all suddenly orphaned, my Gran took us all in and raised us. We never really saw much of my Mom's family, but that's okay, as far as I was concerned, Gran, Jason and Hadley were the only family I needed. Hadley's grandparents were always happy to have her come visit. With them loosing their son, she was their only connection to him, I guess you could say. One weekend a month she would stay at their house, and then she'd be with them for 2 weeks during the summer. She was my same age, and, I remember that when we were 12, she came home from one of those weekends acting odd. I told my Gran about it, and she spoke to Hadley. A day later we got word that Hadley's uncle Bartett had been arrested. Apparently, when Hadley would stay with her grandparents, her uncle would come in and touch her very inappropriately.

He was sent to prison, and she would still spend time with her grandparents, just not ever completely alone. I remember that it was September, and we were only a little ways into our senior year in high school. It was Hadley's weekend with her grandparents, and she was always excited to go, because she really loved them a lot. They had tickets to go the state fair, but Hadley had a math test coming up and wanted to study, so she stayed home alone." I paused and took a deep breath. Trying so hard to keep my emotions in check. "Um, they found what remained of her three days later. It turned out her Uncle Bartlett had been released from prison. He went to the house, beat her up real bad, took her to his house where he repeatedly raped her. The doctors said they couldn't be certain, but they were pretty sure that she was still alive when he used a very large knife and old wood saw to cut her into tiny pieces. He had put her in three garbage bags and just thrown her out into the woods." I took a moment to dash away the single tear that was trickling down my cheek. "I found out a few months afterwards that, some stupid probation officer signed off that he wasn't dangerous, without ever having even met him. I knew right then and there, that if I would never let the same thing happen to anyone else." We sat there in silence, neither one quite brave enough to say something in that moment.

**A/N I know this isn't the best stopping point, but, I didn't have much of a choice. I'm exhausted and my 2-year old son is sick, so I am in desperate need fo sleep. I figured y'all would be more pleased if I posted a somewhat short chapter instead of no chapter at all. Enjoy!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Another short chapter, but, since I didn't post anything last night before I went to bed, I wanted to get this up, and then I'll post again before I go to bed tonight. Thank you for all the wonderful well wishes for my son's health, it's appreciated!! Also, considering what happened at the tale end of Chapter 4, I just wanted to take a moment and say how inspired I was by a wonderful girl from my own home town. I live in SLC, and yesterday, for the first time she her abduction 7 year ago, Elizabeth Smart took the stand and spoke out about what Brian David Mitchell did to her. She's taking control of her own destiny, and not letting a sick, twisted, perverted man ruin her entire life for his own lustful purposes. She kicks butt!! Without further ado....take a peak inside Eric's mind. Enjoy!**

EPOV

I watched Quinn and Miss Stackhouse leave the courtyard and head towards her office. It was easy to see she was fuming mad. I wasn't positive what it was all about, but, I figured it had something to do with Quinn calling her 'babe.' I mean, come on, doesn't he realize how absolutely inappropriate that is? Even if they are dating, he shouldn't be addressing her that way while they're at work. I truly hope they're not dating, though. Judging from first impressions, the guy's just an ass. He walks with this stupid little swagger, almost as if he's trying to be impressive. It just makes him look like he's got a coat hanger stuck up his ass. A guy with that type of attitude probably has no knowledge of how to please a real woman. And, judging by the way her hips sway when she walks, Miss Stackhouse is most definitely a real woman. I'd been all in favor of watching her eat all night, just to see if that tight blouse could continue to contain her lovely breasts.

I must have been enjoying imaging her curves **without** any clothing on a little too much, because I suddenly found myself standing outside her office, listening to her rip Quinn a new one. And, as always, I was right. The asshole didn't realize how inappropriately he'd been acting towards her while on the job. I was seriously considering ripping the door open and throttling him when I heard him call her a bitch, but, held back, stifling a laugh when I heard him refer to me as 'Mr. Tall, Handsome and Deadly.' What a moron.

Just then, the door swung open, and there I was, face to face with Mr. Asshole Extraordinaire himself. He muttered something under his breath, and walked away. Now that I had a clear view of Miss Stackhouse, I could see that she was even more infuriated than I'd expected. I said something about interrupting, and she called me on my attitude, so I knew it was time to reign it in and act like an adult again. She asked what I was there for, and I panicked. Shit. I can't say 'oh, I was wandering around daydreaming about how much I'd like to fuck you up against the table in the courtyard and found myself at your door,' no matter how true it was. I added a token amount of charm to my voice, and asked if I could come in, and made sure she was alright while stalling, trying to come up with a good enough reason for why I was there.

I found myself falling easily into conversation with her. Under different circumstances, I could see myself pursuing this woman. At the very least, she was definitely someone I'd like to have the honor of calling my friend. And, with the past few years of my life being what they were, I could use a good friend or two. When she told me of the death of her cousin, I was stunned speechless. I suddenly understood why she took her job so seriously. If she said someone was ready for parole, and they weren't, she would feel the weight of any crimes they committed as if they were her own.

"What ever happened to her uncle?" If the man was still alive, I'd considering breaking parole and going after him myself.

"Oh, he was arrested and found guilty of murder. And then he found out first hand why pedophiles aren't normally put into general population in prisons." Oh yes. There are all sorts of terrible people in prison, but someone who has sexually hurt a child, they rarely survive their incarceration. "Needless to say, he wasn't alive long after his trial."

I had felt the tension building in our conversations today several times, but it was always eased away somehow. I had no idea how to accomplish that at this moment. The air felt charged. Just as I was thinking about what to say to change the mood, Miss Stackhouse spoke up, and did it for me.

"Well, I guess it's my turn, now. What made you decide to open a bar?"

"Well, when we were all living down in New Orleans, every once in a while, Cindy, Pam and I would leave Lizzie with a babysitter, and go to this really great club that was kind of like a locals-only establishment. I don't even think it really had a name. They didn't want to attract the tourists. After we moved to the Shreveport area, we missed that little place quite a bit. I decided it was something I would pursue, so, I got a loan from the bank, bought the property, and Pam and I started getting things set up. She didn't actually end up buying into it for a while, because she said she wanted to make sure it was going to be a good investment first. I didn't blame her for holding out that long, though. She had to do what was best for her."

"Well, if it's stayed open as long as it has, I'm assuming it ended up being a good investment?"

"Absolutely. Pam and I actually make really good business partners. She always picks up what I'm missing, and vice versa." Our conversation was briefly interrupted when her phone rang. I could easily tell that she was on the phone with either Quinn or the other on-duty case worker, and they were filling her in on security check. After she hung up, I asked, "So, how long have you and Quinn been dating?"

She looked like she couldn't decide whether or not to answer, but finally said, "Almost five months. I met him when Sam brought me here to give him a little tour of the place. He can be a lot of fun, but, I'm starting to think that we'd be better suited just as friends." I tried to ignore the tiny spark of excitement that I felt when she told me this.

We continued our back and forth question and answer session for a few more hours. She asked me all sorts of questions about growing up in Sweden, and I asked her about her own childhood here in Louisiana. It honestly amazed me how easy it was for me to talk to her. I hadn't found it this easy to talk to someone since I'd lost my wife.

Eventually, she yawned loudly and looked down at her watch. "Wow, I can't believe it's almost 3am already! I'd better let you go get some sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow."

"Oh, do I? That's news to me." I honestly had no clue what she was talking about.

"Yup, you'll need to meet Barry, and we'll need to sit down and chart out some weekly and monthly goals for you to be working on. Also, we need to get things set as far as a job is concerned. If I get can Sam to approve it, would you **like** to get back to working at your bar, during the daytime? I'm not sure if he'll approve it or not, because it's definitely somewhere that you can easily access alcohol. But, I personally don't think it would be a problem. Usually Sam trusts my judgment on these sorts of things, but I'll have to run it by him all the same."

"Yeah, that'd probably be good. I wouldn't mind getting caught up on what Pam's been doing with the place."

"Well, assuming Sam approves it, I'll have to go out there and check it out, and get some information for my records. And I will also eventually need to meet Pam and go over some ground rules with her about what you are or aren't allowed to be doing, or be around." She stood and opened the office door, and I took that as my queue to leave. I told her goodnight, and as I went past her, I felt my arm brush ever so gently across her breast. I was glad she was behind me after that, because I was sporting major wood. If I didn't do something to end my sexual frustrations soon, I'd pounce on her. And, as much as I know I'd enjoy a little rough tumble with her, I don't think that'd be the right thing to do. No, she deserves to have her body worshipped, and, with as long as it's been for me, there was no way I'd be able to last long enough to do that.

I went back to my room and got a few toiletries together and headed to take a shower. It felt strange being in a shower stall, after being so used to the large communal showers that I'd been forced to use at the prison. I knew that making this transition was going to be harder than I'd expected. I'd wanted my freedom so badly, I thought I'd be able to dive right in and get right back into the thick of things. But, I was slowly starting to realize that the little things were what was going to make this hard. I took advantage of the privacy of the shower to relieve the aching tension I felt in my groin. And, for the first time since her death, it wasn't my wife's name I called out when I found my release.


	6. Chapter 6

**SPOV**

Even after we'd asked each other all sorts of questions about our childhoods, I could've sat there and talked to Eric for hours more. I'd never found it so easy to talk to one of my residents. Granted, most of the men I'd worked with weren't as educated, intelligent, and charming as Eric. But, even beyond all of that, there was just something about him. I told him things about me that I hadn't even told Quinn yet!

I finally mentioned that we should call it a night, using everything we had to accomplish the next day as an excuse. But, if I was being truthful with myself, it was really because I knew that if he stayed in my office, I'd continue talking to him until the sun rose, and when the rest of the staff got there, it'd be a little too obvious we had been talking all night. Sure, nothing had happened, but I wanted to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

While I was standing by the door as he left my office, I felt his arm gently brush up against my breasts. I was suddenly glad that he had his back to me. The tight blouse I was wearing was not hiding the fact that as soon as his arm touched me, my nipples had hardened like pebbles. If even the slightest accidental touch of his body against mine set me on fire like this, I was definitely going to have a problem working with him. But, I knew that I couldn't pass him off to another case worker. Not after everything we'd spoken about. I'd had other cases similar to this before. When the sting of a significant loss triggers someone to violence, it's very hard for that person to open up about that loss later down the road. Eric had opened up and allowed me to see inside his battered soul. I didn't want to risk him closing that off if I transferred him to someone else. I'd just have to deal it.

**EPOV**

I woke the next morning bright and early. It had been so ingrained in my system that wake-up time in prison was 7am; I don't think I could've slept later than that even if I was drugged. I left my room and made my way to the bathroom. I was on my way back to my bedroom when I heard something I hadn't heard that early in the morning in years. The sounds of feminine laughter. My curiosity was piqued, so I followed the sound, soon realizing it was coming from the communal kitchen. The closer I got, I was hit by a wave of the most delicious aroma. I rounded the corner and peeked my head through the kitchen door.

There was a young man sitting on a stool at the island in the middle of the room. In front of him was a plate full of food better looking than any I'd seen since my conviction. My stomach grumbled loudly, and that's when I heard a slight noise to my left, and turning, saw what must have been a vision. It was too beautiful to be real. Miss Stackhouse was sitting on the counter by the stove, nursing a cup of coffee. She was dressed in a blood red sleeveless blouse, tight black dress pants, and red high heeled sandals. Yesterday, she'd had her hair pulled into a pony tail, but today it was loose. It fell in curly waves over her shoulders, down her back and some over her breasts. My God, she was lovely. I mentally made a note that, with the height of the counter, if I walked directly to her and stood between her legs, they were at just the right height to wrap around my waist, and her mouth would have been at the same level as mine. Luckily for me, the excited I felt at that thought went unnoticed, as I was still wearing my baggy cotton lounge pants and black tank top.

"Well good morning! I wasn't expecting to see you quite this early, since you were up so late last night," she said as she hopped down from the counter. She walked to a cupboard and pulled out a coffee mug, poured it full, and offered it to me. I accepted it gratefully. Not that I needed it. After seeing how breathtaking she was this morning, I didn't need caffeine to jumpstart my day. "Are you hungry? I've got a plate ready for you; it's in the oven staying warm." For some reason, I was speechless, and just nodded and smiled. She opened the oven and pulled out a plate then grabbed some silverware from a drawer. She walked to me, and handled me both, offering a smile as she did so. Apparently, she was a morning person.

"You know, you were up just as late as I was last night," I told her as I surveyed the food she'd given me. My appetite must've thought it'd died and gone to heaven. The plate was piled high with country potatoes, bacon, sausage, cheese, green peppers, and onions.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the young man sitting at the island look from Miss Stackhouse to myself, and back again a few times, and then clear his throat. "You must be Eric. I'm Barry." I'd assumed this. I walked over and shook his hand, and mumbled something like 'pleased to meet you,' in between bites.

I turned my attention back to Miss Stackhouse who was now simply leaning against the counter watching the two of us. "This is amazing," I told her, motioning towards the plate of food.

"I'm glad you like it, I made it myself. I like to think of myself as a bit of an amateur chef," she said with a giggle.

"Well, well, well, Miss Stackhouse, I am impressed." And I meant every word of it.

"Well, I don't know about that. And, Eric, please, call me Sookie." I enjoyed the way my name sounded coming from her lips. I think I'd enjoy it even more if she was screaming it, but, that would have to wait.

"Well, boys, I'm off. I need to get some forms faxed to the state office ASAP. Barry, why don't you come by at 9, and we'll have our meeting before you leave for work, and Eric, could you come by at 10?" We both nodded at her, and she turned and left the kitchen.

After I'd watched her leave (and what a nice view it was from the back), I turned and saw Barry silently laughing at me. "What?"

"Dude, you've got it bad," he said and guffawed.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on. I've seen that look before. Let me guess, when she left, you were thinking how nice her ass is, and how you'd love to get your hands on those hips, right?" What the hell, how did this kid know exactly what I'd been thinking?

"What, you can read minds or something?"

"Nah, I can just read people. Well, **now** I can anyways." I wasn't sure what that meant, but, didn't get the chance to ask. "I've seen just about every guy who comes through here stare at her in pure desire. You'd think that Mr. Merlotte would've pulled his head out of his ass enough to realize that, when you've got this many guys fresh out of prison staying here, you might not want to let her wear tight clothes. She's too desirable for her own good."

I chuckled and nodded. "True enough. It is kind of like dangling a t-bone in front of a bunch of starving pit bulls."

"Well, I've gotta get going so I can get ready to leave for work as soon as I'm done meeting with her. But, let me just fill you in on a few things real quick. I never put a lock on my food cabinet, so if you need something specific and you don't have it, if I do, please feel free to take it, just try to replace it later if you can. I'm not a slob, but, I'm not a clean-freak either. I pick up after myself, but don't be surprised if you find a crumb or two on the counter after I've been in here. I've got a ton of books and magazines in my room, so, if you'd ever like to borrow something to read, please feel free to ask."

"Thanks." I wasn't sure what else to say. Sookie was right, this kid was nice, but obviously naïve.

He walked towards the door of the kitchen as if to leave, but, at the last minute, turned around and looked at me again. "Um, do you mind if I ask you a quick question?" he asked.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Is it true that you shot down the guy who caused your family's deaths?" I had a feeling this was going to come up with him sooner rather than later.

"Yeah, it's true."

"Wow. That sucks, dude. I'm sorry about your family. But, if anyone knows how to help someone recover from loss, it's Sookie. I gotta go, I'll talk to you later." He walked out the door, and I heard him say from down the hallway, "It was nice to have met you."

I mentally wondered what kind of trouble a nice kid like that had gotten himself into to land in here.

I finished my breakfast, got dressed, grabbed a notebook and pen, and headed towards Sookie's office for our meeting. I was a couple of minutes early, but, as I approached, I noticed that her red "I'm busy in here" light wasn't on, so I went ahead and knocked. I heard her say 'come in' through the door, so I opened it, but froze instead of walking. There, just behind her desk, Sookie was bent over looking through her filing cabinet. All I could see was her ripe luscious ass in front of me. It took all I had to walk up and push myself against her. I just had to keep reminding myself that it certainly would **not** be appropriate. Well, 'Big Eric' understood that, but how in the hell was I going to convince 'Little Eric?'


	7. Chapter 7

**SPOV**

It lifted my spirit to hear Barry describe his sister's wedding. He loved her dearly, and was grateful that he'd been able to be part of it, even though he technically was not supposed to be gone from Hope House overnight. But, if there ever was a resident who we could trust, and who deserved this chance, it was Barry. It still made me angry when I thought about how cold and spiteful his 'old friends' were. They had taken advantage of Barry's trust, and used his computer skills to make themselves richer, **very** illegally. And then, of course, when someone figured out what they'd done, they'd all fled the country, leaving Barry to take the fall for all of them. Thankfully, the Judge saw it for what it was, and simply sentenced Barry to 6 months in Hope House, and probation for another year after that. He didn't deserve this. He'd been under the impression that he was helping his friends.

He'd actually been fortunate enough to get a job offer from the financial institution that his friends ripped off. They asked him to design an encoded security system that was as close to 'unhackable' as possible. And, since he'd been the only one to ever hack their system before, he would know exactly what holes to look for. Once he'd completed their new system, other companies began hiring him for theirs as well. Now, with only a few more weeks left 'til his release, he was almost ready to start his own business as a software security consultant. Not that I could take any credit for his hard work, but, I was proud of him, all the same.

We were just finishing up our meeting, when out of the blue, Barry said, "So, tell me, what's up with you and this Northman guy, Sook?"

"What do you mean what's up? He's new here, I'm his case worker, end of story."

"Oh no, I don't think so. Since he's been locked up for a few years, it didn't surprise me to see how attracted he is to you, but, I saw the way you were checking him out, earlier."

"**WHAT?!?** Barry, I was **not** checking him out. And what makes you think he's attracted to me?"

"Oh, I'd say the fact that he couldn't keep his eyes off of you the entire you were in the kitchen would be the first indicator. Then there's the fact that his smile broadened considerably when he saw you from the back."

I spluttered and nearly choked on my coffee. Could it be true? Was Eric really attracted to me? I knew that I was more than just simply attracted to him. He was easy on the eyes, to say the least, but, the man behind the face was what I found myself craving. I could see the wheels in Barry's mind turning at my silence, and knew I'd better say something quick. "Well, if he thinks I'm good looking, I'll admit, that's flattering. And I won't hide the fact that I think he's quite handsome. But, come on, Barry. You **know** me. You know I wouldn't jeopardize my job by starting something with a resident here."

"Oh, I know. I'm just saying, you guys obviously find each other physically appealing, and if you stayed up late last night talking to him, I figure that means you find him interesting as well. I know how important appearances are to you. Just watch yourself, okay. I'd hate to see you get in trouble for something that you would never do."

"Duly noted. Now, you'd better be getting to work. I'd hate for you to be late. Why don't you plan on meeting Eric and I in your common room at 7pm this evening, and we'll have our weekly group session, okay?" Barry nodded, said goodbye, and left for work, flipping the switch for the 'do not disturb' light to it's off position on his way out.

As I stood, gathering Barry's file to return it to my filing cabinet, I thought about what he'd said. True, I did find Eric interesting. And, under different circumstances, I'd be ecstatic to hear he was interested in me. But, it just wouldn't work. Not now. Not while he was staying here. I couldn't let it ruin my job, and, I didn't even want to **think** of what it would mean for his parole. If he got caught having an inappropriate relationship with his case worker, he'd be sent back to prison for the rest of his sentence. No matter how much I would enjoy a relationship with that man, I couldn't allow him to risk that.

I was lost in thought a little when I heard a knock on my door. I glanced at my watch, and since it was only 9:50, figured it couldn't be Eric. It was most likely Sam or Hoyt, so I yelled 'come in' and continued to dig through my filing cabinet for the forms I was looking for. I heard the door open, and after a brief moment of silence, I heard a slight groan. I stood up and turned around, blushing furiously when I saw that it **was** Eric. And, with the excellent fit of his pants, it wasn't hard to tell he'd been **enjoying** the view.

We both stood frozen, silently staring into each other's eyes, before my phone ringing broke the moment. I sat down the paperwork in my hand, and gestured for Eric to take a seat while I answered my phone.

"Sookie? It's Sam. Hey, I was just looking over this request you left me for Northman to be able to work at a bar. Are you serious? This guy just got out yesterday!"

"Yes, Sam, I'm completely serious. And it's not just **any** bar. He's co-owner along with his sister-in-law. It doesn't open until 9pm, so he'll never be there while they're serving drinks, and he said he can be doing administrative work in his office during the day. I'm going to go out there and check it out and meet the other owner as soon as possible."

"I don't know, Sook. It's risky."

"Tell you what, why don't we give it a week? We can give him a breathalyzer every night if you want. I have faith that he can do this, Sam."

After a long pause, Sam answered, "Okay, Sookie, one week. But, if even the slightest trace of alcohol shows up in his system, you'll be the one answering to the state parole board as to why you allowed him to work there."

"I have no problem with that, Sam. You know I always take full responsibility for my decisions and evaluations."

I hung up the phone, walked over and flipped on the 'do not disturb' light, and sat down.

"I take it your boss has decided to give me a chance to prove I can do this?" Eric asked.

"Yes, he has. But, you're going to have to submit to a breathalyzer test every evening, and, don't be surprised if he asks for a blood test at least once, as well. If even a single trace of alcohol shows up, your parole will be revoked, and I'll probably end up loosing my job. But, I'm not worried about that happening. I have completely faith in you."

**EPOV**

Hearing that Sookie was putting her job on the line in order to give me a chance to work at my own bar, I felt two distinctive emotions. One was fear. She was putting her **entire** **career** at risk for me. The other, awe. She was putting entire career at for **me**. She hadn't even known me for 24 hours. I knew I couldn't let her down.

For the next 2 ½ hours, she handed me what seemed to be an endless stack of paperwork to fill out. About the time that I started to wonder if I'd ever be able to straighten my right index finger again, she looked down at her watch, and gasped. "Oh my gosh! It's already 12:30? We've gotta go. We have a lunch appointment at 1pm clear across town."

I was beginning to understand that I should get used to surprises while working with Sookie. I followed her out of the building, and she led me to her car, a black Mazda 3. I wondered off hand how she could afford this car on her government salary, which couldn't be much. We sat in a comfortable silence for the duration of the drive. She began to pull into a parking lot, and said, "Well, I hope you like seafood." I looked to see where we were, and, at risk of sounding like a teenage girl, just about passed out with excitement. We were at Ralph & Kacoo's, which just happened to be my favorite restaurant. Sookie saw my reaction, and smiled, softly laughing.

As we approached the front door to the restaurant, I heard a voice behind me say my name loudly, and I froze, closing my eyes. I knew that voice like the back of my hand. "Pam," I said, turning and looking for her. When our eyes finally met, I smiled brightly, and she came running. She jumped up to hug me, and I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her slightly off of the ground. It had been so long since I'd seen her. She'd come to visit me in prison a few times, but, eventually I asked her to stop coming. She had been upset about this, but, I told her that I couldn't stand for her to see me like that. Instead, she wrote once a week, and I was able to call her for 20 minutes two times a month. She was the only family I had left, and I was grateful for her. I looked at Sookie over Pam's shoulder, and she mouthed 'Surprise!'and winked.

Once I put her down, Pam and Sookie introduced themselves, and the three of us headed into the restaurant. We were seated, and the waiter had just taken our order, when Sookie pulled a notebook from her purse.

"Well, I know that the two of you probably have lots to catch up on, so let me get my business out of the way, and then you can chat." She asked Pam several questions about different aspects of what I could be doing at the bar, and also about her personal criminal record (nothing other than a few speeding tickets).

When our food arrived, Sookie put her notebook back into her purse, and the conversation switched to another type of business. Pam proceeded to fill me in on various changes that she had made to the bar while I was 'away.' I knew that she was competent, and wouldn't have a hard time handling things while I served out my sentence, but, I must say, I was extremely impressed at just exactly how good of a job she'd actually done.

Sookie had mentioned that she would need to take a quick tour of the bar before I started work, so we planned on driving over there this afternoon. We just standing up to leave when her cell phone rang. She handed me some cash and asked if I could go pay the bill for her (she was using petty cash from work, because this was technically a business meeting) so she could go outside and take the call. I took the money, and Pam stayed and continued to tell me about some of the more hilarious things that had happened with some of our ditzy wait staff since I'd been gone.

Once we paid the bill, we walked outside, and found Sookie still on her phone. Judging by the look on her face, it wasn't a good conversation. I saw her eyes roll slightly back into her head, and rushed to her side just as she dropped her phone, and fainted.

**SPOV**

I was very excited when I saw Eric's first reaction to my surprise lunch meeting with Pam. I had arranged everything with her via email while Eric was filling out paperwork in my office. You could tell that he truly loved this woman, like she was his own flesh and blood sister. It was also obvious that she felt the same about him.

As we were finishing our meal, my cell phone rang, and I noticed it was Sam calling from his office, and knew I had to take the call. I gave Eric the cash for the meal, and asked him to meet me outside.

From the moment the first word left Sam's mouth, I could tell something was very, very wrong. "Sookie, where are you?"

"I'm at Ralph & Kacoo's having lunch with Eric and the co-owner of his bar, why?"

"I need for you to get back here as soon as possible. I just got a call from the New York State Parole Board."

Oh no, oh no, oh God, please don't let this be happening. "And?"

"Sookie, it's Compton. His parole office said he hasn't shown up for four days, and someone fitting his description shot a man and stole his car about 50 miles south of Philadelphia yesterday." I felt the blood drain from my face, and barely registered seeing Eric and Pam walking towards me from the restaurant.

"They think he's headed here. We've arranged to have around the clock security on you…."

But, I didn't hear the rest of what he had to say. I felt the phone slip from my fingers, and then everything around me went black.

**A/N** **I just love a good cliffhanger, don't you?!?**


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I've forgotten to mention this before, but, I own none of this. All the credit goes to Charlaine Harris who makes my world a little more interesting with her wonderful characters!!**

**EPOV**

I fell to my knees in front of Sookie just in time to catch her head before it hit the pavement. She was out cold. What had happened? Why had she fainted so suddenly?

"Making the pretty women swoon again so soon, I see," Pam said, a slight smile on her face.

"Pam, not now. This is serious. What the hell happened?"

"As if I would know. Who was she on the phone with?"

We got the answer to that question very quickly. Apparently, when Sookie dropped the phone, it ended the call. When it began ringing again, I leaned Sookie up against my side, and reached for the phone. The ID said it was Sam Merlotte calling. I hit the button to answer the call, and before I could say anything, Sam began yelling.

"Sookie, what the hell happened?"

"Mr. Merlotte? This is Eric Northman. Sookie just passed out. What the hell is going on?" I was not amused, and I wanted answers, damnit!

"Damnit! Okay, do you know your way back here from the restaurant?"

"Yes, of course."

"Good. If you wouldn't mind, could you please put Sookie in her car and get back here as soon as possible. This is extremely important Eric. Sookie's life is in great danger."

The moment I heard these words, I sprang to action. I told Pam that I would find out what was going on, and call her later. As I reached Sookie's car, I grabbed the keys from her purse, and eased her into passenger seat. As I leaned over her to buckle her seatbelt, I hesitated. My lips were only a breath away from hers. It was so tempting to press my lips to hers and taste her sweet skin. But, I knew it wasn't right. It would be taking advantage of her, and that was something I refused to do. When I finally kiss Sookie, it will be when we are both lucid, and because we both want it.

I jumped into the drivers' seat and started the engine. It had been so long since I'd been behind the wheel. I'd never driven a Mazda before, and was impressed with how much power it had, although it was nothing compared to my own collection of vehicles. I made my way across town as quickly as traffic would allow. I heard Sookie begin to stir when we were a few miles away from Hope House. When she finally got her bearings, she turned to me, looking confused.

"You fainted while you were speaking to Sam. He asked me to get you in your car and get you back there as soon as possible, because your life was in great danger." I didn't feel the need to coddle her at all with this information. I thought I heard her mutter something like 'now **that's** an understatement,' but I couldn't be sure.

We pulled into the parking lot, and I quickly went around to help her out of the car, not knowing if she'd be shaky on her feet after having fainted. Once she was standing, she stayed still for a moment, and then she nodded that she was fine. I stood beside her and put my hand on the small of her back as we walked, just in case she lost her balance. The moment we entered the building, we were practically bowled over by Sam and Quinn.

Sam pulled her into a hug, and I could see the relief hit him when he knew for himself that she was completely unharmed. He looked at me over her shoulder, and although he didn't say it, I could see that it was his way of thanking me for getting her here. He pulled back from her, but kept his hands on his forearms. "We're going to have a meeting with all the staff in the conference room in 15 minutes, okay. Quinn's gonna stick with you until then. I know you may feel that's being over-protective, but, that won't change my decision, so just swallow your arguments." She nodded slightly, and he turned to walk away. After he had taken a few steps, he turned and added, "Oh, and Sook? Bring Eric to the meeting with you."

I could see that Quinn wasn't too pleased about me being with the two of them, but, until I knew what we were up against, I was not about to leave her side. I had to remind myself that, although she and I had grown very close during the past day, and I felt a deep connection to her, **he** was still the man she was dating. She'd said she thought they would be better suited as friends, but I was positive she hadn't had the opportunity to talk to him about it yet. Knowing how important appearances were to her, I pulled my arm back into my body, instantly missing the warmth of her skin.

As we got closer to her office, she stopped, and turned to Quinn. "Do you really think he'll come here?"

He hesitated a moment before answering. "Knowing his nature, I would say it's highly likely. And, I'd much rather err on the side of caution with this one." She nodded, and began walking again. When we reached her office, she put her purse down, opened her filing cabinet, and began searching for a specific file. I was tempted to keep my eyes on her and admire once again how good she looked bent over, but, it just felt too creepy at the moment. Once she found the file she was searching for, she closed the drawer, and we left her office.

By the time we reached the conference room, there were already several people there. Sam acknowledged our arrival, and it looked like we were actually the last ones there.

"Okay everyone, listen up. This is about as serious a situation as we'll ever have here." Quinn joined him at the head of the conference table, and then began distributing a sheet of paper to everyone. It had a mug shot, and some information about the person in the picture. "This is William Compton. He was arrested about 7 years ago in New York City. At the time, he was the only suspect in the death of 10 women. All of them had been beaten, and then tied to a bed, and had their femoral artery cut. The cause of death in all the cases was blood loss. There was never enough evidence to officially charge Compton in any of the deaths. However, there was enough evidence to convict him of grand theft auto in an unrelated situation. He was sentenced to 7 years at Rikers Island, and was granted parole by the state board after 4 years. Once he was released, Sookie was assigned as his case worker."

After a brief pause, Sam opened his mouth to continue, but Sookie held up her hand for him to stop, and finished the story herself. "It was obvious to me the first moment I met him that he would always be a danger to someone as long as he was alive. But, without any evidence in the murders, all I could do was monitor whether or not he violated his current parole. Which he did, less than a week after he'd been released. I met with a Judge, and within 24 hours his parole was revoked and he was returned to Rikers for the remaining 3 years of his sentence. Needless to say, he wasn't happy about it. I got all kinds of threats issued to me from people he was close to. The closer and closer it came for his full release, the worse the threats got. I finally decided I'd had enough, quit my job and moved back here." By glancing around the room, I could tell that I wasn't the only person hearing this for the first time. It looked as if Quinn and Sam were the only ones who knew.

Sam spoke up again. "I've been in contact with the New York State Parole Board since the time he was released 6 weeks ago. At first, it appeared as if he was playing by all the rules, and that he might just leave Sookie alone. But, they called just a few hours ago. He hadn't checked-in with his parole officer in 4 days, and when they searched his apartment, they found it empty. A man fitting his description shot a man and stole his car just south of Philadelphia yesterday. Assuming it's him, it looks like he's going to be making his way here."

Because I was sitting right next to Sookie, I could feel the tiny vibrations coming from her body. She was trembling in fear. She had her hands clasped together in her lap under the table. I gently reach over, took one of her hands in mine, and interlaced our fingers. I wanted so desperately to comfort her. She tightened her grip on my hand, and I saw a tear run down her cheek.

"Now, we've contacted both the city and parish police departments, and they're on alert. Quinn and his staff are going to begin amping up the security here." At this point, Sam turned and looked directly at Sookie. "You're going to have someone with you around the clock. We aren't going to let him get anywhere near you. For the time being, I would suggest that you bring some things from your home, and sleep here. We can keep a better eye on you here with all of the security cameras and staff. Eric," he said, turning his gaze to me, "am I correcting in thinking that in your living area, the room between your room and Barry's is the vacant one?"

"Yes, sir, it is."

"Perfect. Sookie, I suggest you stay there then."

She silently nodded, and Sam continued. "I also suggest that for the time being, you plan on staying here during the day as much as possible." Apparently, she didn't like this suggestion so much.

"Oh, no Sam. That's where I draw the line. I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of turning my entire world upside down. I'll agree to sleep here, and I'll even allow for a security staff member to be with me at all times whenever I'm not here. But I am NOT letting Barry and Eric jeopardize their parole by pushing back appointments just because Bill Compton has decided he wants revenge." I gave her hand a squeeze to show her how brave I thought she was being.

"Well, that's another thing we needed to talk about. Normally, we have enough security personnel to cover all staff at all times. However, we're a little short staffed right now." Once again, he turned his focus in my direction. "Northman, what kind of security does your business have?"

I wasn't expecting this. "Well, we've got 24 hour surveillance monitors throughout the property, and we have what's called a 'panic room' just off the main office. It's a 10 foot by 10 foot space that can only be locked and unlocked from the inside."

"Good. Sookie, if you insist on working, I would actually prefer that you spend the majority of your time at Eric's office. And, since we're short on security personnel, Eric, whenever she's with you, you will basically be acting as her personal bodyguard." Quinn was very obviously not happy about this.

Once the meeting had concluded, Sookie, Quinn and I were once again making our way to her office. She asked Quinn if he would go to her house with her so she could gather whatever necessities she would need on a regular basis. When he agreed, she turned to me and said, "Why don't you stay here while I go with Quinn, okay?"

I didn't like the sound of this. She apparently saw my hesitation, because she leaned in a little a whispered, "He and I have an important matter to discuss, in private." I remembered that she had said they were better suited as friends, and I was hoping that she was going to take this opportunity to break up with him. I agreed, and went to the main lobby to phone Pam to let her know that Sookie was alright.

About an hour later, Barry got back from work, and Sam sat down with him and let him know what was going on. Apparently, Barry knew who Bill Compton was already. Sookie must have really trusted this sweet, naïve young man, because he seemed to know her inside and out. As the time grew later and later, I found myself becoming more and more anxious waiting for Sookie and Quinn to return.

**SPOV**

I asked Quinn to come to my place with me for a couple of reasons. First off, I wanted to ask him his own opinion and what he truly thought Bill would be willing to try. Quinn was very familiar with the case, and had incredible advice for me in the situation.

The other reason, was because I wanted to speak with him about our relationship. I told him that I felt we would be better as friends. I was flattered by his interest in me, and I truly valued his friendship. He could always make me laugh, and I did enjoy his company. But, I knew that over the past few weeks, I had begun to loose any physical attraction I had towards him. He seemed saddened at first, but, the more we spoke about it, the more he agreed with my logic.

As we got back to Shreveport, I asked him if he would mind stopping so I could pick-up some take out Chinese food for my group meeting with Eric and Barry. The moment we reached Hope House, he helped me carry my things in; I thanked him with a kiss on the cheek, and headed off to the common room.

Barry and Eric were already waiting for me, and each had very different reactions to my return. Barry ran up, took the food from my hands and put it on a counter, and wrapped me into a hug. I could tell that he was upset about what Sam had told him, and wanted to assure himself that I was still alright. Eric sort of sighed, almost as if my presence was relieving some invisible tension in him.

We all got settled in with food, and I began our discussion. "Alrighty, boys. Before we get started, I guess I might as well let you know that Quinn and I have decided to end our relationship, and just remain friends." Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Eric smile, but when I turned my gaze to him, it was gone. "So, it looks like as of right now, you two are officially the most important men in my life." I smiled and giggled when I said this, and both men laughed.

"Well, since this is the first time we've all met for a session, let me just set up the ground rules. Everyone is welcome to speak freely. Nothing said here will go anywhere beyond here. Barry, since you've done this with me a few times, why don't we start with you. Why don't you go ahead and fill Eric in on why exactly it is you're here."

"Sure. I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. My Dad left pretty early on, so it was just me, my sister Rachel, and my mom. Growing up I didn't have a lot of friends, and I guess it's safe to say I wasn't that skilled socially." He paused here to give a snort. "When I was 18, I moved to this area to go to LSU. My roommate in college was a pretty nice guy named Charles. He worked for a bank, and he always said how much he liked working there. One day, when I came home from class, I found him freaking out in our living room. I asked him what was wrong, and he laid this extravagant story on me about how he had messed up at work, and unless he was able to make $2 million in transfers before the next day, he'd be in tons of trouble. Now, I was probably a little too trusting, so, I never doubted him. He gave me the account information, and from right there on my own laptop, I hacked into the banks security system and did all the money transfers. Two weeks later, I was arrested for embezzlement. Charles and his girlfriend had fled the country, so I got blamed for everything. Luckily, the judge believe my story, and decided to give me a break, since I've never even had a traffic ticket, he gave me 6-months here, and a year long probation afterwards." Barry went on to describe to Eric how he now was able to use his skills to improve the security systems of financial companies.

"Okay, Eric, it's your turn. Now, I know that it's sometimes still hard for you to talk about your family, so, don't push yourself too far. Just tell as much as you're comfortable with."

He went on to describe to Barry what I'd already known about him growing up in Sweden, meeting Pam and Cindy, and running into Pam in New Orleans. My heart hurt all over for him again when he talked about Cindy's daughter, Lizzie, whom he loved so dearly, he adopted her on their wedding day. Then, a year and a half later, their son, Matthew Eric Northman was born. I saw the pride in his eyes when he spoke of his family, and the hurt that followed when he spoke of their death.

"I went into a total state of depression for about 4 months after their death. But, finally, Pam got pretty sick of my bad moods, and helped me to get back into the daily functions of life. I knew that I wasn't moving away from them, I was just moving towards my future. I was helping out with security in the bar one night, when I saw that asshole Drew Marshall and his friends walk in. Needless to say, I was livid. He wasn't supposed to be drinking, according to his plea agreement. But, I didn't think there was anything I could do about it. A couple of hours later, he and his friends were all three sheets to the wind. A couple of them asked me to call a cab for them. We had a special program where, if someone was too intoxicated to drive after leaving our bar, we'd pay for a cab ride home for them. We found it worked pretty well. After the majority of his friends had left, I heard him saying to one that he was just going to drive himself home, that he could handle his liquor, and he'd be fine. I was immediately enraged. I followed him to the parking lot to confront him, and hopefully take his keys away from him. He wouldn't listen to reason. As I stood there watching him struggling to get into his car, I realized that, unless I did something to stop him, he'd probably kill someone else's family that night. I couldn't have that. I'd already lost mine. I would never want someone else to suffer the way I did. So, in order to prevent him from driving away, I picked up the handgun I'd had for security purposes, and unloaded my clip right into his chest."

I was amazed. I'd known the basics of this story. But, I didn't know the huge truth behind it. Eric hadn't killed Drew Marshall out of revenge. He did it to prevent others from having to go what he went through. My respect and admiration of him had just grown ten fold.

**EPOV**

Not long after I'd shared my past with Barry and Sookie, Barry announced that it was time for him to be getting to bed, because he had to get up and go to work in the morning. He shook my hand, gave Sookie a quick hug, and made his way to his bedroom. Sookie and I cleaned up the mess from the food, and made our way down the hall towards our bedrooms. We got to mine first, and she followed me in for a moment. She gently pushed me to a sitting position on my bed, and then leaned in, and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. "I'm so sorry for what you've been through, but I'm glad to see you opening yourself up to others. You're on the mend, Eric Northman." She turned and left.

I went and took a quick shower, then came back to my room and was just settling into bed when I thought I heard some strange mumbling type noises. I follow the sound to figure out what it was. It was coming from the heating duct in my wall. I walked over and opened the duct to see if I could figure out exactly what the noises were. Apparently, the duct for my room, and for Sookie's were right next to each other, because I was clearly hearing what she was doing in her room.

At first, she was simply humming a soft tune to herself. It was very sweet. There was a pause, and the noises changed entirely. After a few moments, I realized that, since Sookie was alone, and those sounds were unmistakable, I was listening to Sookie pleasure herself. Are you fucking kidding me?!? Did the Gods truly hate me this much? There's this beautiful, wonderful woman, and she's the first person since my wife's death that I'm both physically and emotionally attracted to. Plus, now she's good and single. But, because of the working relationship we currently have, she's the one woman I **can't** have. I hadn't been intimate with a woman since my wife's death 6 years ago, and now, sitting here listening to Sookie moan, was just too much. I was hard, and didn't know how much more of this I could take. I heard her breathing speed up, and the pitch of her voice went up, and I knew she was close. God, what I wouldn't do to be the one making her make those noises. To have her writhing in pure pleasure beneath me. To taste her warm skin as she reaches her release. Which, she was extremely close to. As if I had no control over my body, I reached down and slowly began to stroke myself while listening to her. And then, just like that, she was there. And, as if fate couldn't get any worse, I almost fell off the bed at what I heard next. Just as she exploded into an orgasm, she cried out my name. **WELL. FUCK. ME.**

**A/N I want to dedicate this chapter to vikinglass25. I hope this makes up for the cliffhanger I left you with last time!! Enjoy!!!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Not a lot happens in this chapter as far as plot progession goes. But, it was necessary to help move things along. I've already started on chapter 10.**

**SPOV**

As I left Eric's room and went to my own to prepare for bed, I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. Too much was happening all at once. I had just ended my relationship with Quinn. Bill Compton was most likely on his way with every intention of killing me. To top it all off, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop myself from developing feelings for Eric.

The lunch we'd shared with Pam today had been surreal. She had a dry sense of humor, and was completely blunt and honest about everything. I liked her instantly. And seeing Eric interact with her made me want to be around him all the more. Part of me wanted his time on parole to last forever, because it meant I'd get to spend lots of time with him. The other part wanted it to be over now, because then I'd be free to pursue something beyond a friendship.

I was lost in thought as I left my bedroom and went to the staff restroom down the hall to shower. I didn't think it would be proper of me to use Eric and Barry's bathroom, so, I'd just have to deal with the longer trip. When I was finished and had put on my pajamas, I headed back to my bedroom. I had just turned the corner to the bedroom hallway, when I froze. It looked like Eric had just finished showering as well, because he was in front of me, walking away from me….in nothing but a towel. I thought the view from behind was great when he was wearing jeans, but, with a towel hanging precariously from his hips, was about as close to heaven as you could get. Well, that was until he turned his profile to me and opened his bedroom door. I had a feeling that male models the whole world over would happily sell their soul to the devil to have abs and a chest like his.

Luckily, he hadn't seen me standing there, so once his door had shut, I hastily made my way to my own room. I felt as if I was in need of another shower, this one, much colder. I'd never thought of a man as beautiful before, but, that was the only way I could describe his body. I knew that unless I could get the image of him out of my mind, I'd never get to sleep. So, as a way of calming myself, I sat on my bed and brushed out my hair while humming the lullaby that Gran used to sing to Hadley and I when we were little girls.

After a few minutes, I had to admit to myself that it wasn't going to work. There was only one other way I could think of that would let me get some sleep. I turned off my light and crawled under my covers. As I lay there, I remembered his hand holding mine under the table at the staff meeting earlier. Then, I pictured his hands roaming my body, and let my own hands mimic my thoughts. I softly began to moan at the pleasure that I felt by massaging my breasts and pinching my nipples. My hands slowly made their way down my belly and to my core. I slowly slipped two fingers inside myself, and rubbed circles over my clit with my other hand. I felt the pressure building in my abdomen quicker than I'd expected. Apparently, imaging Eric's hands on my body was quite accelerant. I cried out his name when I hit my moment of ecstasy. Afterwards, as I drifted off to sleep, I idly hoped the walls were thick enough that neither of the men in the rooms surrounding mine had heard me.

I woke the next morning with a smile on my face. It had been quite some time since that was the case. I knew that my fantasies and dreams (yeah that's right, I had a dream about him, too) were the cause. I went to the restroom, and then decided that instead of getting dressed, I'd go to the kitchen to make breakfast for Barry before he had to leave for work. Apparently, I wasn't the earliest riser. As I strode into the kitchen, I was greeted by the site of a very topless Eric. He was wearing a pair of cotton lounge pants, and nothing else. He was leaning against the counter, drinking a mug of coffee and reading a newspaper. When he looked up and saw me, his entire face lit up. Why oh why can't I have this effect on a man that I **can** be with?

"Well good morning, sleepy." Sleepy? I couldn't have slept in that late.

"Morning. What time is it?"

"Almost 10. Coffee?" I nodded yes, and thought about how odd it was that I had slept that late. I hadn't slept past 8 in years. Eric handed me a mug of coffee, and resumed his position of leaning on the counter. He did not, however, go back to reading his paper. Instead, he just stared at me. After a moment, I couldn't help but smile.

"What? Do I have like funny sleep lines on my face or something?" This made him laugh. That was a sound I could get used to first thing in the morning.

"Oh, no. I'm just trying to figure out if you're more of a bacon and eggs, or fruit and toast kind of woman." Hmm, hadn't seen that one coming.

"Toast and fruit, I think." He immediately went to the fridge and began preparing a plate of fruit, and put a slice of toast in the toaster for me. Within 3 minutes, I stood across from him, leaning on the opposite counter, and we simply watched each other as I ate my breakfast.

Just as I was finishing the last bite of toast, Quinn entered the kitchen. He stopped just inside the doorway and accessed the situation. For some reason, I suddenly felt exposed, since I was only wearing a pair of men's boxer shorts and a camisole. I wasn't sure why it didn't bother me when Eric saw me like this, but it did with Quinn. I mean, I'd had sex with Quinn for goodness sake, he's seen me in lots less than this!

"Well, good morning you two," he said after a moment of awkward silence, then turned his focus on me. "Sookie, I have some things that I want you to keep with you at all times." He pulled two items out of a bag he'd held in his hand. "I've got a pepper-spray dispenser here, and also a taser. Now, if someone should decide they want to harm you, these things won't stop them for long, but, it should buy you enough time to get some help." I nodded, appreciating his thoughtfulness. He then turned his attention to Eric. "Northman, while you're a resident here, you're not supposed to have your own personal cell phone. However, considering the circumstances, we've decided to wave that policy. I have a prepaid phone for you that we'd like you to keep with you at all times. The numbers for our main office here, Sam's cell, my cell, Sookie's cell, and the direct line to the Shreveport police department have all been preprogrammed for you." Eric nodded and took the phone from Quinn.

"Sookie, what plans did you have for today, so we know where you'll be?" Quinn asked.

"Well, I thought that I might go to Walmart to pick up a few things I'll need while I'm here, and then I still need to go and check out Eric's bar, get myself familiar with it, and then I'd work on some paperwork getting prepared for Barry's upcoming release."

"Okay. If you wouldn't mind, give me a quick call when you both arrive at and leave from the bar. That way we've got a good idea as to whether you're on the move, or staying in one place."

"Sure thing, Quinn. Thank you," I said with a small smile. I meant it. I knew that, no matter what happened between Quinn and me in our romantic life, I could trust him with my life. He would never let me down, and he's the best at what he does.

I excused myself to go get dressed for the day, and shortly after I left the kitchen, I heard Quinn start to say something to Eric. I stopped and hovered for a moment so I could hear what was going on.

"Listen, Northman, I don't think it comes to a surprise to anyone that I'm not overly fond of you. That being said, I wanted to thank you for your willingness to help in this situation. It's obvious that you are taking Sookie's well being very serious, which has earned you my respect. And, also, I just wanted to let you know that, I do trust you to protect her. In fact, if not for the restrictions enforced by the terms of your parole, I'd be issuing you a firearm today." I continued walking towards my bedroom, and began getting ready for my day.

**EPOV**

I was stunned by Quinn's confession that he trusted me to protect Sookie. I have no problem saying I don't like him, but, I can tell that he takes his job very seriously, and that does raise my opinion of him, if only a little.

I went to my room to get ready to accompany Sookie on her errands for the day. It had taken all of my willpower not to jump her when she walked into the kitchen for breakfast. When I saw her in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts and camisole, and remember the sweet sounds of her moans the night before, I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to reading my paper. She was too much of a distraction. The sooner my parole was over, the better. I knew I had to be with this woman, I just didn't know how I'd be able to take the waiting game we'd be playing.

About half an hour later, Sookie knocked on my door and asked if I was ready to go. We took her car and headed to Walmart. There were various items that she wanted to get so she wouldn't have to move them from her house (shampoo, toothbrush, etc), and she wanted a few specific food items for our kitchen. I was amazed at how comfortable it felt strolling through the aisles of the store with her. It had been a long time since I'd done something this domestic. During the last year of our time together, I had only made it to the grocery store with Cindy maybe 5 or so times. She had her shopping schedule set around Mattie's nap schedule, which unfortunately, didn't coincide with my work schedule.

Since she'd never been to my bar before, she allowed me to drive us there. When I pulled into the parking lot and let her know we had arrived, she looked up at the building, and then turned to me with a questioning look on her face. "Are you serious? The name of your bar is 'Hell's Inferno?'"

"Yup," I said while silently chuckling. "It was Cindy's idea. She knew what kind of establishment I wanted it to be, and she said that, compared to other bars in the area, it'd be hotter than hell's inferno because the other ones are so tame. It stuck."

She laughed when I told her this, and got out of the car to follow me inside. I saw Pam's vehicle already in the parking lot, so I knew she'd beaten us there. Sure enough, she was in her office when we walked in.

"Sookie! It's nice to see you with your eyes open again, darling," she said as she came and gave Sookie a light kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks. I'm sorry about how things ended yesterday; I guess I was just a little shocked."

"Oh, don't worry. Eric filled me in a little on what's going on, so, let me just say that I'm glad you're safe and well, and hope you stay that way." Wow, this was quite the show of emotion coming from Pam.

I asked Pam to pull any current invoices and staff schedules for me and put them on my desk while I took Sookie on a tour of the place. Pam hadn't changed much since I'd been there last. But, business had been so good, it wasn't necessary. Why fix what's not broken? After a quick tour, I settled in at my desk to begin catching up on as much as I could. Sookie sat at a small table on the other side of my office, set up her laptop, and began working on the paperwork she'd need to begin processing for Barry.

We continued working like this, only taking a short break at 1pm when Pam brought in some sandwiches and we all ate lunch together. Around 6pm, Sookie began packing up her laptop, and said that we needed to be heading back to Hope House. I finished what I had been working on, and went to let Pam know we'd be leaving. I'd noticed that a few staff members had arrived, because this was one of our two delivery days when we had trucks show up full of alcohol for us! I took a moment and greeted the ones I knew, and introduced myself to those I didn't. Just as we were walking out the door, I heard a feminine squeal, and immediately regretted not leaving earlier.

**SPOV**

We were on our way out of Hell's Inferno, when I was shocked to hear a female shriek loudly, and then watched with wide eyes as the woman who had made the noise literally launched herself at Eric. She couldn't have been more than 5'4", so she had to jump up in order to wrap her arms around his neck to hug him. I saw his arms wrap around her waist tightly, and found myself wishing that he was only doing it as a reflex to keep her from falling, and not because he wanted her in his arms.

After she held on to Eric for a moment, he set her down and simply said, "Hello, Ginger." She reached out and held his hand in hers. As much as I hated to say it, it made me nervous at how beautiful she was. I found myself fighting off wave after wave of jealousy.

"Oh, Eric, it's so good to finally have you back! You have no idea how much you've been missed around here." It didn't take a genius to hear the sexual innuendo in her words. I wanted to smack her and tell her to take her hands of my…..my what? My resident? I realized that I no claim over Eric. If he wanted this woman, there was nothing I could do or say to stop it. I couldn't stand to see her touching him, so I mentioned to Eric that I needed to visit the restroom before we left, and went to compose myself. By the time I emerged, Eric was standing there waiting for me, alone. I guess Ginger had finally gone to get started with work.

Once we were in the car and headed back towards Hope House, Eric took a deep breath, and then began speaking quickly. "Sookie, listen, what happened back there, it didn't mean anything, really. Ginger was the first waitress we ever hired. She might seem bitchy and callous at times, but, she's good at the job, keeps the customers happy and wanting more, she's loyal."

"Eric, you don't have to explain yourself to me. It's okay for you to date while you're on parole."

"Sookie, believe me, if I were to date **anyone** right now, it most certainly wouldn't be Ginger." Well, that was a little cryptic. Although, I can't say it didn't make me happy to hear.

We got back to Hope House, and Eric helped me bring in the various things I'd bought at the store earlier. I asked him if he'd like to help me make dinner, and he seemed oddly enthusiastic. Apparently, he enjoys cooking. Well, that's a big bonus! I gave him the task of cutting vegetables for a salad, while I worked on preparing some chicken and paste sauce for parmesan chicken. Just about the time everything was ready, Barry came in and asked if he could join us. We told him of course, because, we'd actually been expecting him. The three of us sat in the kitchen area and ate, and talked like old friends. It all just felt so comfortable.

Once we'd finish eating and clearing up the mess, I checked in with Quinn and Sam to find out if they had any news, while Eric picked out a movie for us to watch in the common room. Quinn said that no one had spotted Bill yet, so they didn't have any clue where he was at the time being. That didn't come as a surprise to me at all. The reason he had gotten away with killing 10 women (I'm completely convinced he's guilty), was because he knew how to avoid getting caught.

When I got back to the common room, I noticed that Eric had picked The Shawshank Redemption for our movie. I smiled when I thought about Eric choosing a movie about a man being sent to prison for something he didn't do, and how the experiences and relationships he made there shaped the rest of his life. I wondered if he was subconsciously trying to tell me something.

We settled in comfortable on the couch together, and began the movie. Even after I'd slept in today, I felt myself beginning to nod off. I felt Eric pull my body into his, and he turned slightly on the couch so that my back was resting against his chest, my head on his shoulder. He wrapped one of his arms around my waist, and for the first time ever, I felt the overwhelming joy of falling asleep in Eric's arms.


	10. Chapter 10

**EPOV**

As the weeks went by, Sookie and I began to settle into a routine. We'd get up in the morning and have breakfast together, sometimes with Barry, and then get ready for the day and head to Hell's Inferno. She would work on her laptop while I worked on things for the bar. Around 6 or 7 every evening, we'd head back to Hope House, make dinner together, and then we'd just hang out together for the rest of the evening. We spent quite a few evenings talking about all sorts of things from our lives, and things we'd like to do in the future. Sometimes, Barry would join us, and I began to understand why Sookie liked him so much. It was extremely obvious that he was a very trusting, naïve person, but, it was oddly endearing. I found myself pleased to call him my friend.

At least 5 nights a week, I was haunted by the sounds of Sookie touching herself alone in her room, moaning my name. It was killing me knowing how bad I wanted her, knowing she wanted me as well, but that nothing could happen between us for now. The more than time went on, the more sexually frustrated I became. I was worried that I was going to begin loosing my ability to please a woman simply due to lack of practice!

One Wednesday evening, Sookie asked me to come to a meeting with her and Sam. I wasn't sure what was going on, but, I would never pass up a chance to spend more time with Sookie. As it turns out, she was able to get an early release granted for Barry. He would be able to leave here on Saturday, 4 weeks earlier than expected! I was so happy for him, if anyone deserved a second chance, it was Barry. She wanted to do something special, so she, Sam and I planned a fancy dinner, and Sam even decided that as long as there was no alcohol involved, we could use the private dining room at Hell's Inferno, even though we'd be out after lock-down hours started. Sookie invited Barry's sister, and she was glad to come because her new husband had already been sent to Afghanistan, as well as their mother. Sam, Sookie, Quinn and I would be the only other ones from Hope House in attendance.

Sookie said that she wanted this to be a formal occasion, so, I arranged for Pam to get my nicest suit from my home and have it dry cleaned. When the night of the dinner arrived, Sookie and I went back to Hope House early so we could get ready. I wasn't happy about being away from her earlier in the day than I was used to, but, the thoughts of getting to see her in a formal dress made it worth it. Pam had brought me my nicest black Armani suit, and I was pleased to find that it still fit perfectly. I felt a small pain ripple through my heart as I remembered that I'd worn this suit the night I proposed to Cindy.

Sookie had asked me to meet her in the common room at 7pm, so at 6:45, I made my way there, eager to see her. I was surprised to see that she was already there waiting for me. She was wearing a form fitting sapphire blue dress, with a square neckline that hit just above her knees. She was so beautiful, it left me breathless. Her hair was pulled up, but there was a few ringlets left down, spilling onto her shoulders. She smiled when she saw me. I knew at that moment, that I would do just about anything in life to see her smile like that at me every day.

We met Quinn and Barry's family at Hell's Inferno. Sam had arranged to bring Barry himself. When they arrived, I thought Barry would literally burst at the seams with excitement. He was ecstatic to see his mother and sister, and know that he would get to go home the next day. He kept telling Sookie how amazing she was, and how he couldn't thank her enough for this night. I agreed wholeheartedly. Pam had arranged for a caterer to provide a special meal, and I can honestly say, this farewell party for Barry ended up being one of the more memorable moments of my life.

After dinner, we headed back to Hope House. Sookie was exhausted, so, rather than spend more time together, as was our norm, she said she was going to go straight to bed. I had finished taking off my jacket, shirt and tie when there was a knock at my door. I opened it to find Sookie, still fully dressed.

"Eric, I kinda need your help," she said. "I can't seem to get the zipper on the back of this dress to go down. Do you think you could come over to my room and help me get it off?" I told her that of course I would, and when she turned her back on me all I could do was think: come on! You have **GOT** to be kidding me. Not only do I get to see her in this stunning dress, but I'm going to help her out of it, and I don't get to touch her afterwards? I must've done something wrong in a past life to deserve this.

I followed her into her room, and she leaned her head forward, pulling the ringlets off her back so I could see the button. I slowly eased it down, allowing my middle finger to lightly brush against her skin behind the zipper. I felt her tremble at my touch, and knew that she must've been feeling what I was feeling. Once the zipper was all the way down, I knew I should turn around and leave. But, what can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment. Instead, I raised my hands and lightly brush the material aside, leaving her shoulders and most of her back completely bare. I bent down and began placing kisses on her shoulder blades. Her skin felt and tasted better than I ever could've imagined. I continued placing kisses up her neck, and leaned in, and took her earlobe into my mouth and sucked on it slightly. I heard her release a tiny gasp, and hoped it was a pleasurable one. Just as I raised my hands to turn her around and kiss her, she stepped forward, turned around, and looked at me.

"Eric, I'm sorry, I just can't do this." I'd hoped it was because she was still my case worker, but, it was impossible to decipher the look on her face. Once I got back to my own room, I didn't hear a single noise from hers all night.

**SPOV**

When Eric left my room that night after the dinner for Barry, I was miserable. I wanted him to stay. I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted him to hold me in his arms. I wanted him to make love to me. Which is exactly why I had to send him away. I just couldn't start something with him now. We just had to hold out a couple more months til he was allowed to live elsewhere. Needless to say, I had a harm time sleeping that night.

Although it was a Saturday, Eric and I planned to go to He'll Inferno that morning so he could get a jump start on a new marketing strategy he and Pam were coming up with. Speaking of Pam, about 45 minutes after we'd arrived at the bar, she came in and asked if I would help her. She was looking through catalogs trying to pick out new uniforms for the female staff, and wanted another woman's opinion.

I left with Pam, and we poured over catalogs for over two hours. I started to really miss Eric, so I told her I was going to go back to his office. As I made my way there, I noticed that the door was closed. I'd **NEVER** seen his door closed before. I honestly wasn't sure what to think of it. I went back and asked Pam, and she seemed shocked as well. As we got closer to his office, we stopped dead in our tracks at what we heard. It was the unmistakable sounds of sex. And Eric **wasn't** alone. We stood back and looked at each other oddly, just as the door flung open and Ginger stumbled out, still readjusting her skirt.

I felt as if my heart had broken into a million tiny pieces. I thought Eric had cared for me the way I cared for him. I thought he desired me as well. Obviously, it wasn't true. He probably only acted that way because he'd been abstinate for so long, and, he **IS** a guy, after all.

I turned to Pam with tears in my eyes, and told her just that I had to go. I didn't care that I wasn't supposed to be all alone. I just needed some fresh air and some time to think. Before I realized where I was going, I found myself pulling into the small parking lot attached to the Bon Temps cemetery. This was where my cousin Hadley, and my Gran were both buried. Gran had passed away following a stroke about a month after I moved back from New York. I sat on the ground in front of Gran's headstone, and allowed the flood gates to open. Tears poured down my cheeks. I couldn't decide who I was more upset with. Eric for doing what he did, or myself for allowing myself to become so attached.

I heard the small sound of footsteps approaching, and wondered who else would be here at this time of day on a cold Saturday afternoon. "Well, well, well….hello there, Sweetheart." Cold shivers of fear engulfed my enter body as I recognized the voice, and turned around to see my worse nightmare standing in front of me.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N So, a lot of you said that you were pretty grossed out picturing our Eric with Ginger as she is on True Blood. Let me clarify something, THAT Ginger is not MY Ginger. When I picture the Ginger in this story, she looks more like Dawn from Season One of True Blood, only shorter.**

**EPOV**

After Sookie went with Pam to look at new waitress uniforms, I found myself looking over the same line on the same invoice for about the 50th time. I hadn't been able to concentrate at all. My mind kept going back to the feel of Sookie's bare back under my fingers. The taste of her skin on my lips. The way her neck became covered in goose bumps as I gently sucked her ear lobe into my mouth. I slammed my fist down on my desk in frustration. I'd never been in this position before. Before I married Cindy, I could have any woman I wanted. And, I did. The moment I saw Cindy again in New Orleans, I suddenly only had eyes for her. Since we'd known each other all our lives, our relationship quickly and effortlessly slipped into intimacy. I had never been in a position where I wanted a woman I couldn't have. And the worse part was that I **knew** she wanted me, too, but that the timing was off.

I heard a knock, and looked up to see Clancy, our floor manager, standing in the doorway. "Hey, Eric, I've got a favor to ask you. The delivery truck is out back with a large shipment of whiskey, but, I need to have a meeting with Ginger about some complaints we've been getting from some of the other waitresses. I was wondering if you'd mind dealing with the delivery, and I could use your office to speak with Ginger."

"Sure, no problem." I thought that getting some fresh air and doing some heavy lifting might just help me get my mind back together. I left my office and went out back where the delivery driver was, and began unloading crates of whiskey. Once I had finished, I chatted with the delivery driver for a brief moment, and then walked back down the hallway towards my office. When I entered the lobby area around the admin offices, I saw Pam standing with a look of utter confusion on her face.

"Pam, what's going on?" When she heard my voice, her head snapped over to me, and she gaped at me as if she'd just seen a ghost. Ginger was standing at the entrance to the main floor, and just then, Clancy came strolling out of my office, and saw the awkward situation in the hallway.

"Wait a damn minute. Eric, why were Clancy and Ginger in your office?"

"Clancy asked if I'd take care of the whiskey delivery so he could meet with Ginger concerning some of the other staff."

Pam's face transformed into a mask of pure rage, and turned to Clancy and Ginger. "Then maybe someone should tell me why in the hell I just heard the distinct sounds of fucking coming from that office, and Ginger came out with her skirt bunched around her waist."

With one look at Clancy and Ginger, I knew it was true. Whether that had been their intention all along, or it just happened, it was not going to be tolerated. "Clancy, Ginger, you're both fired. You've got twenty minutes to remove yourselves and all of your belongings from the premises or else I will have you arrested for trespassing."

After they had both stormed away, I looked around and noticed that Sookie wasn't there. "Pam, where's Sookie?"

"Well, she was with me when we heard Clancy and Ginger. And, since we both assumed it was **YOU** and Ginger in there…."

"Oh God, Pam, please tell me you didn't let her leave." I felt rage bubbling up inside of me.

"Of course not, Eric, I'm not that uncaring. Her purse is still in my office, so I'm sure she just went outside for some air."

I ran out to the parking lot searching frantically for her. When I noticed her car was no longer there, I saw red. I grabbed the cell phone Quinn had given me, and hit the speed dial for his number while going back inside the club.

"Quinn, its Eric. We have a major problem here. There was a misunderstanding, and Sookie's gone." I heard nothing but silence while Quinn processed this information.

"What do you mean, she's **gone**?" His voice was laced with anger.

"I was in the back dealing with a delivery, and something happened that she misinterpreted, and she left. Pam assumed she was just going outside because she didn't have her purse with her, but, she must've had her car keys in her pocket, because her car is gone." I walked into Pam's office and picked up Sookie's purse, peering inside. "Her cell phone, taser, and pepper spray are all here as well." Damnit. This was not good.

"I'm on my way there, meet me in front of your bar in 5 minutes. I'll call Sam and have him start calling everyone we know to help us locate her, and I'll notify the cops."

I ended the call and turned to look at Pam. She looked like she was going to be sick. "Eric, I didn't know. I had no idea she had her keys in her pocket. I wouldn't have let her leave, I swear."

I walked over and wrapped her in my arms and hugged her to my body. "I know, Pam, I know. No one is going to blame you for this. Hopefully, we'll find her and everything will be fine. What kind of mood was she in when she left? Was she mad? Sad?" Part of me hoped she was saddened if she thought I was having sex with someone else. Part of me hoped she was mad and wouldn't do something stupid to risk her own life.

"She looked like her heart had been shattered, honestly."

I just nodded, and went outside to meet Quinn. When he pulled up, I jumped in, and was about ready to punch him when he didn't immediate move the car.

"When she left here, what state of mind was she in?"

"Pam said she looked like her heart was broken."

"Fuck. There's only one place she'd go in that situation." He immediately started driving, and when we got stopped at a red light, he reached underneath his seat and pulled out a small handgun. "Here, I have a bad feeling you're going to need this."

**SPOV**

As I sat on the ground in the cemetery, looking into the sadistic face of Bill Compton, I silently cursed myself for getting into this situation. I should've waited for Eric to come out of his office so I could talk to him about it. Well, I don't think I could've done that. At the very least, I should have taken my purse with me. My purse had my cell phone, pepper spray, and taser in it. There was no one to blame but myself for whatever was going to happen to me. Scratch that, Bill was to blame. I'd just made a dumb mistake.

"What do you want, Bill? You know, this isn't very smart. My boss knows I'm here, and they know you're in the area, so this place will probably be swarming with cops any minute."

"Oh, sweetheart, how stupid do you think I am? Even if someone **does** know you're here, there's no reason for anyone to show up to help you. And, I highly **doubt** they know I'm in the area, or else they probably would've found me by now. But then again, maybe not. Cops always have been dumb. I provided plenty of evidence for them to charge and convict me of killing all those bitches, but, they were too stupid to see what was right in front of them. Killing you will be just as fun, I think. Now. **STAND. THE. FUCK. UP.**"

'This is bad. This is really, really bad,' I thought to myself. I stood up, and he indicated that he wanted me to walk towards the parking area. He stayed several feet behind me, and I kept darting my eyes back and forth for some way to distract him long enough to get to the woods that surrounded the cemetery. I had to come up with something. I was literally only 100 feet away from a million places to hide.

Apparently, Mother Nature decided to step in and help me out. The sky had been filled with black clouds all morning. Almost as if out of nowhere, the clouds burst and we were in the middle of a downpour. Bill must not have been wearing good shoes, because I heard him curse and looked back to see him fall, having slipped on the wet grass. I took my chance. I ran head long into the woods. I was amazed at my luck when I entered the densely wooded area. With the sky being so dark, and the rain pouring down, it would be very difficult for Bill to spot me here. The downside being, it would also be hard for me to spot him.

I moved among the trees, making my way towards the parking area of the cemetery, trying to make a plan of escape. I could hear Bill calling my name. A few times it sounded like he was getting closer, but I could tell he was still in the cemetery, and had decided not to brave the woods himself. I thought I heard the sound of tires on gravel, and then a car door shutting, but I couldn't be sure. I just hoped that some poor unsuspecting person wouldn't stumble upon us and get themselves killed.

Just as I got close to the parking lot, I heard a laugh behind me, and turned to see Bill, maybe 50 feet behind me, his gun pointed straight at me. Somehow, I knew this was it. This was how my life would end. I allowed my mind to flash through images of my life. Hadley, Jason and I decorating our Christmas tree while Gran baked cookies. Gran telling me how proud she was when I got my masters degree. Eric, walking down a hallway in nothing but a towel. Eric, serving me breakfast. Eric, laughing at some stupid thing I'd said. Eric unzipping my dress, pressing his lips to my skin.

"Put the gun down and step away from the girl, Compton," a loud voice boomed. I turned my head and saw Quinn standing at the entry way to the cemetery.

"Oh, I don't think so," came Bill's reply. "Let's see, tall, muscular bald guy. You must be Quinn. Chief of Security at Hope House and boyfriend of our little Sookie here." Clearly, who ever had been feeding information to Bill was a little bit behind on recent developments.

"I've called the cops, Compton. They know you're here. You won't get away with this."

"No, probably not, but neither will she," he nodded his head in my direction. "But then again, neither will you." As he said this, he turned his gun and fired at Quinn. I saw Quinn wince and fall to the ground.

"**NO**!!" I shouted and ran to Quinn. He had been hit in the chest, and there was blood bubbling out of his chest. I heard Bill move slightly closer to me, saw him raise his gun to my head.

"Goodbye, sweetheart." I closed my eyes, heard the gunshot, and waited for the pain. It never came. Instead, I heard someone say my name.

"Sookie, are you alright?" I looked up to see Eric moving out of behind a car in the parking lot. I turned and saw Bill lying on the ground, dead. He'd been shot once, right in the forehead.

"Yes, I'm fine. But call an ambulance, Quinn's been shot!"

"They're already on their way. Here, we need to put pressure on the wound." He pulled his shirt off and pressed it hard over Quinn's chest, and we both pressed our hands to try to staunch the blood flow. We stayed that way until we heard the sirens and saw the flashing lights of the ambulance. As soon as they arrived, they quickly loaded Quinn onto a stretcher, and were leaving to take him to the hospital just as Sam and the police showed up.

Sam ran from his, grabbed me, and pulled me into a tight hug. "Are you okay, Sook? Eric?"

Eric nodded his head, and I looked up and said, "We're fine, Sam. Quinn got shot in the chest. They're taking him to the hospital right now." Sam turned and saw Bill's lifeless body lying on the ground, and just nodded his head. Sam released me, and I felt Eric's arms immediately wrapped around me and pull me to him. In that moment, I forgot all about Eric and Ginger, and just let my head rest against his bare chest, savoring his scent, and warmth.

One of the policemen came up and told Eric that he would need to speak with them, but that they'd be happy to meet us at the hospital so we could wait for word on Quinn. We gladly accepted their offer. Sam jumped into driver's seat of Quinn's car, and Eric ushered me into the back seat and sat down next to me, still holding me close.

As we drove, I idly began to wonder why I wasn't crying. I'd come so close to dying. Quinn might still loose his life. Eric had saved me. None of it felt real, yet. As we got closer to the hospital, Sam broke the silence to tell me that he would arrange for Jason to get my car to me later, and I just nodded. I felt Eric press a kiss to my forehead, and rub slow, soothing circles along my back.

**EPOV**

All I could think of was that I'd almost lost her. It had been so close. If I had fired my gun a second later, she would've been gone. I held her close to me while we rode to the hospital, content just to feel free breathe, knowing she was still here, and, for now at least, she was in my arms.

When we got to the hospital, we were immediately sent to the surgical waiting area. A nurse told us that Quinn had been rushed into surgery to repair the damage the bullet had caused to his heart and lungs. She said at this point, it was a 50/50 chance he'd live. After we'd been waiting there for about 45 minutes, a young woman with tears streaming down her face walked into the waiting room. When Sookie saw her, she immediately jumped up and wrapped the woman in a tight embrace. Sam leaned over to me and told me that the woman was Quinn's sister, Frannie. After another couple hours of nervous waiting, a doctor came to speak with us. Sookie held Frannie's hand as the doctor addressed her.

"Miss Quinn, we were able to repair the damage to both your brother's heart and lung. It's going to be a long recovery, but, he's going to be just fine." I felt the entire room breathe a collective sigh of relief. Just as I was about to go to Sookie, a detective said he needed to speak with me about what had happened. I sat and answered all of his questions, but by the time I was finished, Sookie was gone. One of the other case workers from Hope House said that she had gotten a ride with Sam, and that he would give me a ride back. By the time we got there, it was almost 2am. As much as I wanted to speak with her, I knew she'd probably be exhausted, so, I decided it could wait until morning. I fell into a deep sleep myself the moment my head hit my pillow.

I must've been more tired than I thought, because for the first time since I'd been released from prison, I slept in. I woke up around 10:30am, and immediately went to check on Sookie. As I was about to knock on her door, Sam turned the corner, and said "she's not there." I turned and looked at him, and he said, "Get yourself dressed and meet me in my office and we'll talk."

Twenty minutes later I was sitting in a chair in Sam's office, waiting for whatever news he could give me. "First off, considering the circumstances, the parole board has decided not to count yesterday's shooting as a violation of parole, so you're still in the clear. Starting today, your case has been reassigned to Hoyt. You can still continue to stay in your same room, but, you'll be taking all your meetings with him." Now I was confused. Why would I not be working with Sookie?

"Is Sookie taking a leave of absence or something? Why am I being transferred?"

"Eric, Sookie asked me not to tell you this, but, I think you have a right to know. Sookie came to me this morning and asked me to transfer you to Hoyt. She said she couldn't continue working with you."

The moment the words left his mouth, I stood. "Where is she, Sam?"

"Now, Eric, calm down. She's been through enough already."

"I know that. Believe me, I know what she's been through. But, I think that I deserve to hear from her own lips what her reasoning behind this decision is. Now, please, just tell me where she is."

He sat in silence for a minute, and then grabbed a scrap of paper and a pen, and wrote down an address. "Here. This is her Grandmother's old farm house. She's staying there for a few nights to get away from the city." I turned to leave, but before I got to the door, he said, "Eric, wait." He stood, grabbed a set of keys from his pocket and tossed them to me. "Take my car."

I nodded my thanks, and left as quickly as possible. I looked at the address, and realized it was only a mile or so from the cemetery we'd been at yesterday. It would take about an hour to get there, so I took that time to think long and hard about what I wanted to say to her. I had a whole speech planned out in my head. As I pulled up to the house, I noticed she was sitting on a swing on the front porch. The moment I saw her, I forgot everything I'd planned to say. She looked so beautiful. She was wearing a yellow and white sun dress, which seemed odd, since it was so chilly out. She had an afghan wrapped around her, and as I walked towards her, I could easily she she'd been crying.

"Eric, why are you here?"

"I had to see you. Sam told me that you asked for my case to be transferred to Hoyt. I wanna know why. Did I do something wrong, Sookie? Did I do something to hurt or upset you?" As I said these words, it occurred to me that she probably still thought I'd slept with Ginger yesterday. "Sookie, if this is about Ginger, I promise you, I didn't touch her."

"I know. Pam called and explained everything to me."

"Then, why Sookie? Please, I need to know. You've only been gone from Hope House less than 12 hours, but I already fill like there's a hole in my world. Why did you leave me?" I didn't realize those last words were true until I'd said them out loud. By passing my case to someone else, it felt like she was pushing me out of her life.

"Eric, please. Don't do this. Please don't make me say it." I saw a tear run down her cheek, and I knew she was hurting. But, I couldn't leave it like this. I had to know why she was pushing me away. I walked to where she was sitting, got down on my knees and took her hands in mine.

"Please, Sookie. Why?"

"Eric, I asked Sam to transfer you because I just couldn't do it anymore. I knew that I couldn't continue to work with you day in and day out."

"But, **why**? What did I do wrong?"

She gave a short laugh as another tear poured down her cheek. "Eric, you didn't **do** anything wrong. I couldn't continue to work with you because I knew it wouldn't be right." I could see that she was trying so hard to avoid giving me her reason. I didn't want to badger her after everything she'd been through, but I simply had to know.

"Sookie, please. Why?"

"Because I've fallen in love with you."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N I know that in several review replies, I told quite a few of you that I had planned on getting this chapter up about 24 hours ago. I'm sorry it's so late. But, there's really two reasons it didn't happen. First off, I blame the writers of all the other awesome stories on here, because, every time I get a new chapter alert, I have to stop writing and read what everyone else has written. Also, as much as I LOVE the lemony scenes, I'm finding them very difficult to write. That being said...enjoy!**

**SPOV**

I sat on the porch swing in front of Gran's house, wishing she were here to give me advice. I didn't know if I had done the right thing. I had received a phone call bright and early this morning from Pam. She apologized up and down for letting me leave Hell's Inferno yesterday. I told her it wasn't her fault, and I meant it. She told me that we had been mistaken about what had happened in Eric's office. She told me that it had been someone else in there having sex with Ginger, that Eric had been accepting a delivery in the back. And I believed her.

That's what made me decide to go to Sam and have Eric's case transferred. Realizing how hurt I was thinking about him with someone else, made me realize how badly I wanted him to be with me, and me alone. I knew then that I had fallen completely head over heels in love with him. I couldn't continue to work with him, because it just wasn't right. But, I also knew that I couldn't continue to see him every day and not touch him. I told Sam I was going to take a few days off and stay at the farm house and clear my mind.

After I had been here for about an hour, my phone chirped, showing that I had received a new text message. It was from Sam. "Eric's on his way. I'll have doc sign psych note is ok 4 him 2 be gone til Wed. Have fun!" Wow. So, my boss was more or less telling me to break all the rules, follow my heart, and keep Eric prisoner in my bed for the next 4 days. I smiled to myself, thinking about how tempting it sounded. But, I won't allow myself to get my hopes up until I know how he feels about me.

Not long afterwards, I heard a car making its way down the lane. Sure enough, I saw Sam's little Honda headed my way. As soon as he was out of the car, I asked Eric why he'd come. He said he wanted to know why I had him transferred. After a brief pause, he told me nothing happened between him and Ginger. When I told him I already knew that, he looked almost disappointed. He wanted to know why I was pushing him away. Oh, God, if only he knew. I wasn't pushing him away. I want nothing more than to pull him closer. I'm just scared to. He kept asking me what he did wrong, as if this is somehow his fault. No, it's all on me. I'm the one who fell in love with absolutely no idea how the other felt about me. If my heart gets broken here, I have no one to blame but myself. I have no choice but to put all my cards on the table.

"Sookie, please. Why?"

"Because I've fallen in love with you." I kept my eyes closed for a moment, terrified to see rejection in his. I felt his hand slowly move up my arm to cup my cheek, and he began stroking his thumb along my jaw line.

"Say it again." My eyes snapped open at this.

"I love you, Eric." The moment the words left my mouth, he hooked his hand behind my neck and pulled my face to his, crashing our lips together. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs around his waist, and he pulled me closer to his body. He pulled his head back just a tad, and asked if I was sure this was what I wanted. My only response was to kiss him. He stood up quickly, with me still wrapped around him, and as we continued kissing, he walked into the house and asked where my bedroom was. I pointed in the general direction, and he walked us there, and before I knew it, I was lying on my bed and he was on top of me, kissing me for all he was worth.

"Sookie, you're so beautiful." He said between kisses. "I've wanted you for so long. Almost from the first moment we met." He moved his mouth to place kisses down my jaw line and neck, moving to my collarbone. "And every damn night I had to hear you touching yourself, crying out my name, and I couldn't come to you as I wanted to, it was pure torture." Now **that** got my attention.

I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him away from me and yelled, "**WHAT**?"

He chuckled slightly and said, "Darling, the air vents were connected. I could hear everything that was happening in your room."

I felt my face flush and knew I was probably turning bright pink with embarrassment. I moved my hand to cover my eyes and moaned a little.

He picked my hand up off my face, placed a kiss on my palm and said, "Sookie, please don't be embarrassed. First of all, you didn't know. Second, you have no idea what that did to me. Knowing that you wanted me to touch you. Knowing that you thought of being with me that often. I haven't been with another woman since my wife died, and, I'll admit, hearing you like that made if very difficult for me to not jump any random woman I could. But, at the same time, knowing how badly you wanted me, it's the one thing that ensured I never touched another woman. And, I don't feel bad telling you that, many a night, I got off listening to you get off, so, I guess I should be thanking you," he said with a leer and waggle of his eyebrows.

Before I had a chance to say anything else, he began kissing me again. I moved my hands down his back, wanting more skin to skin contact. I hooked my hands under his shirt, and he leaned up slightly allowing me to pull it up and over his head. I ran my hands down his perfect chest. Every time I'd seen it in the past, I'd wanted nothing more than to run my hands and tongue over every inch of it. I pulled his body back to mine and continue kissing him in a sort of frenzy. I wrapped my legs around his as best as I could, and he growled a low sound of pure pleasure. I felt his hand slowly snake up my thigh and cup my ass.

Everything was going so fast. I knew that he was what I needed, but I wanted things to slow down. I wanted to savor every moment of our first time together. I put my hands on his shoulders and slowly pushed him up and off of me. He had a sort of confused look on his face, and I smiled shyly to let him know it was okay. I stood up, and put him into a seated position on the edge of the bed. Lifting my hair in my hands, I turned my back to him, indicating the zipper on my dress. This all felt so familiar. He slowly eased the zipper down, taking pauses here and there to press light kisses along my flesh. Once the dress was completely unzipped, I dropped my hair, turned to face him, and let the dress fall into a pool at my feet. His eyes clouded over with lust as he looked at me, standing there in nothing but a lacy pair of pale yellow panties and matching bra. I took a step towards him, and felt him wrap his arms around me. I held him close to me, just savoring the moment. The feel of his skin against mine.

I wasn't sure how'd he accomplished it, but before I knew what was happening, he had my bra off and was dropping on the floor by my dress. I looked down into his eyes, and knew that nothing in my life would ever be the same again. Everything before had led me to this place, with this man. A sense of urgency flooded me, and I shoved him back onto the bed and crawled on top of him. I began fumbling with his belt and I heard him chuckle. "Hmmm, suddenly impatient are we?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want to wait? Because I can go lock myself in the bathroom for a few hours if you're not up to the task."

"Only if you want the bathroom door shattered to pieces." He reversed our position, and then stood up for a moment to take off his jeans. He wasn't wearing anything underneath.

I giggled a little and said, "Laundry day, babe?" He rolled his eyes, and reached down and slipped my panties off my body. I leaned up onto my elbows, and we just stayed that way for a moment, not touching, just looking at one another's bodies for the first time.

I wasn't exactly what you'd call 'innocent,' but I was not overly experienced, either. And, for the first time ever, I felt myself craving something in particular. Something I'd never done before, and wasn't sure I'd be good at. But, if ever there was a time to try, it was now, with Eric. I slowly moved myself to the edge of the bed and stood, taking his hands in mine, turning his back to the bed, and giving him a slight shove, so he was lying down. I slowly climbed onto the bed next to him, and wrapped my hand around him. I will admit I found his size to be slightly frightening. He must've understood what I was thinking, because he snickered just a little bit. I leaned down and ran my tongue along the underside of his cock. When I reached the tip, I allowed my lips to wrap around him and started to take him further into my mouth. He grabbed my head, forcing me to look at his face. "Sookie, as much as I want this, and **believe** me, I do, maybe now isn't the best time for…that."

"Why?"

"Baby, it's been 6 years since I've been touched by another. I hate to admit it, but, I'm not gonna last very long. If you do **this**, I don't know that I'll be able to hold myself back."

It took me a minute to understand what he meant. "Eric, I know. That's why I decided I **wanted** to do this. I've never done this before, and, I figured that this would be a good time to try. Plus, once we got your first little 'quickie' out of the way, we could fool around a bit more, and then when you're ready again, we could make our first time together more perfect."

"Well, then in that case, please proceed. I will **never** second guess your intelligence ever again," he said with a wink.

I couldn't help but giggle at him. I smiled and put my mouth back on him, and began to move my mouth up and down his length. I wrapped my hands around him so that I could still stimulate whatever portion of length I couldn't fit in my mouth. And, he had **quite** the substantial length, so the hand was definitely necessary. I heard him moaning, and felt him buck his hips upward. His hands were balled into fists, gripping the sheets so hard I was afraid they might rip. He was making it obvious that he was reaching his end, so I picked up the speed a bit. He moved one hand from the bed sheets to my hair, and I felt him using the smallest amount of force to tug a little. And then, he was crying out my name, and I felt him release into my mouth. I laid my head down on my stomach and waited for his breathing to slow. When it seemed like he was capable of coherent speech again, I looked up at him and said, "So, how'd I do?"

He growled at me (yup, that's right, he actually **growled**. It was pretty damn hot!), and pulled me up his body to kiss me fervently. He rolled me over so he was on top of me, pressing kisses on my neck and collarbone, and then began slowly moving downward. He spent what seemed like hours allowing his mouth to worship my breasts. As he continued to move downward, until his mouth was hovering over my centre, he looked at me and said, "Well, I guess I'd better return the favor, yes?" I couldn't speak. I just nodded my head, earning another one of his sexy chuckles.

He slowly moved his tongue along my slit, causing me to gasp out in pure pleasure. I felt his move long, slow circles around my clit, avoiding actually making contact. He very slowly began to push one of his long, round fingers inside of me. It felt so good I almost flew off the bed. He just chuckled and continued his blissful attack on my senses. He added more pressure with his tongue, at the same time slipping a second finger inside of me. I could feel my release building up in my lower abdomen, and I wrapped my fingers in his hair to try and force him closer to my body. He added pressure once again, and I was flying.

I felt him stretch out beside me while I was coming back down to Earth, and he lay on his side and looked at me. "So, how do I compare to your fantasies as of late?" I blushed again at his reminder that he'd been able to hear everything in my room for the past several weeks.

"Comparing the two would be a futile attempt. That would be like comparing a glass of water to all the oceans in the world." Yeah, it was cheesy, but, it was all I could come up with in my post-coital bliss.

We heard the chimes of the grandfather clock down the hall, and he seemed to realize how late it was. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath. "If I want to be back by room check, I'll have to leave pretty soon."

"Oh, no you don't, mister. You're not getting me all hot and bothered and then leaving before the grand finale."

"Sook, I don't think I have much of a choice."

"Well, as a matter of fact, you do. Sam sent me a text earlier letting me know that he had arranged for you to have a late return time, so you can stay a while longer."

He smiled brightly at this, realizing that Sam more or less knew what we'd be up to. "Did he now? Well, I'll have to make sure to thank him later. When do I need to be back?"

"Oh, at 9pm. Four days from now."

His eyebrows shot up, and his mouth gaped open. "Are you shittin' me?"

"No. He said he'd have a doctor put in a psych note for you saying that you needed some mental health time, and that you were going to be away from Hope House from now 'til Wednesday."

"Well, hell, I guess I'd better figure out a way to repay him. But, that can wait. This, however," he said putting my hand on his now rock hard length, "cannot."

He moved on top of me once again, and kissed me deeply. I reached down with my hand and, after adjusting my own hips slightly, put him at my entrance. "Wait," he said softly, "what about protection?"

"Well, it's been so long for you, we know you're clean. And I got checked after Quinn and I broke up, so we know I'm clean, too."

"What about birth control""

"Don't worry, we're covered."

He smiled, and kissed me again. Just when it felt like he was going to begin moving, he put his hands on the side of my face and said, "Sookie, look at me." I opened my eyes and stared into his. "I love you," he said, as he pushed his way inside of me.

I don't think I could've imagined a happier moment. My body was screaming with pleasure from the feel of him moving inside me, and my heart was doing the same at his declaration. He reached down and hooked his hand around my knee, and hitched it up over his hip. He kissed me over and over as he began to increase the tempo of his thrusts. I dug my nails into his back and kissed him back with everything I had. The pace of our kisses sped up to match his movements, and I knew that we were both very close. I pulled my lips from his, and reached my hand up to cup his cheek.

"I love you baby, so much." He thrust into me two more times, and we both climaxed together, the room around us exploding into hot white light. Once both of our breathing was back to normal, he laid down on his back. I quickly sat up and grabbed a blanket off the foot of the bed, wrapping it around us as I cuddled up to him and put my head on his chest. He lightly stroked my hair, and randomly placed soft kisses to the top of my head. As I drifted off to sleep in his arms, I knew that I never wanted to be without him, ever again.


	13. Chapter 13

**EPOV**

As I lay in her bed with Sookie wrapped up in my arms, I felt complete and happy for the first time in years. I don't know what I did to deserve the love of this incredible woman, but I swear to the Gods that I will endeavor to stay worthy of it for as long as she'll have me. I heard the soft chiming of the clock once again, and got an idea. I gently moved Sookie's head to rest on her pillow, got out of bed, slipped my jeans on, and went in search of the kitchen.

Looking through the small amount of food in the kitchen, I mentally made a note that, if we were really going to stay here for 4 days, we'd need to go to the grocery store. But, I was a man on a mission, and currently, my mission dinner. After searching through several cupboards, I found a skillet, a loaf of bread, some butter and cheese. Well, it's no gourmet meal, but, grilled cheese sandwiches would just have to suffice.

Just as I was removing the last sandwich from the skillet, I heard a sound of movement behind me, and turned to see Sookie leaning against the door frame. She'd put her lovely yellow panties back on, and topped it off with my black t-shirt. Between her attire, and her wild hair, she looked like the Pagan Goddess of Sex.

"I woke up and you weren't there, I didn't like it," she said. I hadn't thought about that. But, then again, I hadn't expected her to wake up while I was still cooking. I'd wanted to return to her while she was still sleeping and feed her in bed.

"I'm sorry love; I just thought you might be hungry."

"Well then you know me well. I'm famished!" She looked at the sandwiches, giggled and said, "hmmm, I think we're gonna need to make a run to the market sometime soon."

"Yeah, I had guessed as much. And, might I add, you look phenomenal."

"Yes, well, fantastic sex can do that to a girl."

"Fantastic, huh? You sure know how to stroke my ego. But, you sure know how to stroke other parts of me as well."

She walked to where I was standing, took the plate of food out of my hand, and wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me. I savored the feel of her lips on mine. She tasted like sunshine. I put my hands on her waist, picked her up and set her on the counter. She squealed and giggled a little as I did this, and, for the briefest of moments, it made me think of Lizzie.

I handed her a half a sandwich, and took a bite of my own. "Sookie, what exactly did you mean earlier when you said 'we're covered' about birth control?" At the time, it truly didn't feel like she meant she was on the pill.

She hesitated a moment and continued to chew, and then looked down a little as she said, "The chances of me getting pregnant are extremely small." I could tell that this was a sore subject for her, and I didn't want to push her into talking about something she didn't want to remember.

"Baby, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, I just…"

"No," she interrupted me. "It's okay. We can talk about it. While I was living in Baton Rouge going to LSU, I was dating this guy, Alcide. We were together for three years. We had planned to get married once I got my Bachelors degree. About halfway through my senior year, we found out that I was pregnant. Alcide was so happy. All he would ever talk about was being a Dad. He would always tell me I wasn't eating properly, or getting enough rest, and in his defense, he was probably right. I was working on my thesis paper, and it was taking longer than I'd expected. One night while I was working on my computer, I began to have really intense cramps, and started bleeding pretty heavily. Alcide took me to the hospital, and the doctor said I'd had a miscarriage. For some reason, the bleeding wouldn't stop, so they had to operate. When I woke up afterwards, the doctors said there had been damage to my ovaries, and that, although not impossible, it would be unlikely that I would ever have my own children. Alcide was pretty supportive until I was released from the hospital, but then he started being angry all the time. He was always yelling at me, telling me that because I was working too hard I'd killed our baby. I tried to make things better between us, but, he just kept getting more and more distant. About three months after the miscarriage, he told me he was leaving me for his ex-girlfriend, Debbie. At that time, she was 6 months pregnant with his baby."

My heart ached for her. She had lost a baby, and found out the man she loved had been cheating on her. I put my hands on either side of her face, and put my forehead to hers. "Sookie, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. But, if that's the way he was treating the woman he was going to marry, you're better off without him. You deserve someone so much better than that."

"I know. It would've been a mistake to marry him. But, my whole life, I've always wanted to be a mom. I always get so jealous when I see pregnant women, knowing that will never be me."

"Sookie, love, listen to me. Even if you can't carry a child in your own womb, that doesn't mean you can't be a mom. There are so many wonderful children out there who don't have any parents, and any one of them would be lucky to have you as their mother."

She smiled, and leaned in to place a kiss on the tip of my nose. "Thank you. I know that I could adopt. It's something I would love to do. But, at the same time, it makes me feel like I'm less of a woman because my body won't do what a woman's body is meant to do."

"Yes, but you didn't do anything to make it that way. Don't let things that are beyond your control get to you."

She smiled, and took another bite of her sandwich. She pushed slightly away from me and hopped down from the counter, and went to the fridge and grabbed out a soda for each of us. After she'd placed the sodas on the counter, she put her hands on my shoulders and looked at me expectantly. After a brief moment, I understood her silent request, and lifted her back up onto the counter.

"Eric, will you tell me about your children?"

I was only partially caught off guard by this question. I knew that this was something we'd talk about eventually. And, given our previous topic, it did make sense that she would ask now. I didn't have any problems telling her about my family, I just still had a bit of a hard time talking about them, because I felt like I'd let them down by not being there to save them.

"Of course. What would you like to know?"

"What did they look like? Do you have any pictures I could see?"

"I do have several pictures, but, none of them are with me. Most of them are in storage at my old house, and a few are in my things at Hope House. Lizzie was just a few months short of turning 4. She had light brown hair that was long and straight. She used to love it when Cindy would put her hair in a ponytail, and then she'd swing her head back and forth and tickle the back of her neck with her hair." I laughed, remembering how much she enjoyed it. "She had beautiful green eyes, and her face was covered in freckles. If not for the green eyes, you would never have been able to tell she wasn't actually **my** daughter. Like me, Cindy had blue eyes. She said that Lizzie's biological father had green eyes, but that they weren't as vibrant as Lizzie's. We always just figured it was the green mixing with Cindy's blue that made them so pretty. When my Mother passed away, my Father gave me several pictures of her with me when I was just an infant. I swear to God one day Cindy and I were sitting around looking at them, and we couldn't remember if we were looking at a picture of me or of Mattie. He looked exactly like I did in every way. I remember Pam saying once that she hoped that would change by the time he was an adult, because it was hard enough having a 'gorgeous babe-magnet' (her words, not mine) for a brother-in-law, she didn't want her nephew to be one as well. Mattie was only 9-months old, but, he was already trying so hard to figure out how to walk on his own. We were at the park one spring afternoon not long before the accident, and Mattie had been digging in a sandbox. Cindy told Lizzie that it was time to get ready to go home, and Lizzie went over to Mattie, and took his hands in hers to help him stand up. She stood next to him and held his hand, and they slowly walked together to where Cindy and I were. When they got to us, we both clapped for Mattie because he had done so well, and he leaned over and gave Lizzie just the biggest kiss on the cheek. That's one of my most favorite memories of them."

Sookie wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close. Somehow, she knew that in that moment, I just needed to be held. After a few moments had passed, she slowly began playing kisses along my shoulders. I gave myself over once more to the sensations of her lips on my skin. I began rubbing the outsides of her thighs with my hands, and I heard a low, throaty moan coming from her. I picked my head up off her shoulder and kissed her sweet lips. We kissed slowly, leisurely like this for a few minutes, and then she wrapped her legs around my waist and deepened the kiss. That was the only invitation I needed.

I picked her up off the counter, and turned to leave the kitchen and head back to the bedroom. When we were halfway through the living room to reach the hallway, there was a knock at the front door. She pulled away from the kiss, and looked a little startled.

"Who the heck is that? No one but you and Sam know I'm even here." I put her feet down on the front, and, apparently forgetting her lack of clothing, she walked over and opened the front door.

"He, nice outfit, Sookie." The mystery guest sarcastically said.

Sookie's reply was full of rage. "What in the **hell** are _**you**_ doing here?"

**A/N Sorry this chapter is so short. But, with what I have planned for the next chapter, this was the best stopping point. Enjoy!!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Unfortunately, despite several really good tries, no one successfully guessed who the visitor to Sookie and Eric was. What I found interesting, is that no one guessed it was a female.**

**SPOV**

I was **not** happy to hear someone knock at my door. First off, I was just about to begin another round of mind-blowing sex with Eric. But, only two people were even aware that I was here. One of them was holding me in his arms. The other knew better than to interrupt us. I had Eric set me down and I walked over and answered the door.

"Heh, nice outfit, Sookie." Oops, I'd forgotten all I was wearing was Eric's shirt and my panties.

"What in the **hell** are _**you**_ doing here? You're not welcome here, and you damn well know it."

"I saw your car and thought I'd stop by to say hello."

"Bull shit, Crystal. First off, the only way you could see my car was here is if you had already pulled into the driveway. And why would you want to talk to me, anyway. I thought I made myself **very** clear that I never wanted you anywhere near me ever again."

"Right, like I'd ever let a meddling bitch like you get in the way of my plans."

Eric had been standing behind the opened door, and had not been in Crystals' line of sight. He took that moment to step up behind me and wrap one arm around my waist. Crystal's eyes widened dramatically at the sight of him.

"Is there a problem, darling?" He was addressing me, but, by the look on her face, I could tell that he was giving Crystal a hard look.

Before I had time to answer him, Crystal asked, "Who the fuck are you?"

"I would be Sookie's boyfriend. And before you say another word, I'd warn you that I do not take kindly to you speaking to her like that in her own home. Just because **you're** trash, that doesn't give you the right to speak to her like she is as well." Crystal took obvious offense to this statement. And did he just call himself my boyfriend? File that one away for later.

"I'm not trash. And if I have any say in it, this won't be **her** home for long."

"Well, then I guess it's a damn good thing that you don't have any say in it, isn't it?" I was sick to death of her idle threats, and I wanted her to know it. "You're not going to get your hands on any of it. Not the jewelry, the money, or the property. Now, I would suggest that you leave before I call the police."

She simply folded her arms across her chest, as if she thought that the police coming here wouldn't do a thing to change the situation. Apparently, she hadn't brokered on Eric's reaction to that.

"I believe that Miss Stackhouse has asked you to leave her property. Are you refusing?" He looked at her with cold eyes and waited for her answer.

"Hell yes I'm refusing."

"Well, then it is completely within her rights to remove you by force."

"I'd like to see that happen. Sookie wouldn't have the guts to touch me."

Eric smiled ruthlessly, and looking down at me said, "Sookie, my love, would you like for **me** to remove her for you?" I saw fear take over Crystal's face.

"Yes, I believe I would certainly appreciate that, thank you." Eric took two steps toward Crystal, before she turned and ran down the porch towards her car.

"This isn't over, bitch," she said as she climbed into her vehicle, and drove away, her tires sending a shower of gravel towards the house.

Once her car was out of sight, and we were back inside with the door shut, Eric turned to me, one eyebrow raised and said, "Friend of yours?"

"She's my sister-in-law." I don't know if I could have said it with more disgust than I did. Eric seemed taken aback by this statement, so I took his hand and led him over to the recliner. Once he was seated, I sat down in his lap and pulled her arms around me tight. If I was going to tell this story, I sure as hell was going to be very comfy.

"Remember when I told you that my parents and Hadley's parents had died in a plane crash?" He nodded. "Well, at the time, my Dad and my Aunt Linda were the only heirs to a substantial fortune. You see, when this area was first settled, the majority of it was forest. Jonas Stackhouse, my great-great-grandfather, owned quite a bit of land. He made a lot of money by dividing the land into parcels and selling them off, and now, probably a good 70% of Bon Temps sits on former Stackhouse property. He invested quite a bit of that into some good stocks, so, the amount kept growing. He also sold lumber rights of about 10 acres to Norcross, the local lumber plant. Rather than sell the land, they basically pay a pretty big fee every year for the right to use the area for their processing plant, and to cut down the trees on the land, too.

After the plane crash, the full estate was divided into three parts, and held in trust by my Gran and was to be turned over to Jason, Hadley and I when we each reached our 21st birthday. Unfortunately, Hadley obviously didn't live to be that old. So, her portion was originally supposed to be divided in half and put in the fund for Jason and me. Since Gran was the executor of the estate, she could make changes if she wanted to. She knew that Jason and Hadley never got along, and that Jason would be mean to her as often as he could. He was actually a pretty cruel child. We knew that Gran had changed the way the funds were being dispersed, but at first she didn't want to tell us how it was going to be done. Eventually, she said that Hadley's portion would be divided into two equal parts, and that each of our spouses would get that portion. The ownership of the land rights was supposed to have been set up the same way. Also, there are several pieces of antique jewelry that have been passed through generations of our family, and Gran had actually sat down and wrote who each individual piece should go to.

After I moved to New York, Gran started to get sick. It was never anything major. She developed arthritis, then she broke her hip, and then she had to have her gallbladder removed. Everything was really starting to take its toll on her body. At that time, Jason had been dating Crystal for around 2 months. One day when he was drunk as skunk, he let it slip that he was going to be getting a big inheritance, and that it would also make his spouse pretty rich, too. Three weeks later, Crystal had Jason convinced that she was pregnant, and he married her. A month after I moved back from New York, Gran had a stroke, and died in the hospital. A couple weeks later, when her lawyer went over her will with us, we were all in for a huge surprise. Gran hadn't been truthful when she said how everything was set up. The portion that my Dad had originally left to Jason was still his. But other than that, he really wasn't getting much. There were a couple personal items, like my Grandfather's cuff-links, my Great-Grandfather's wedding ring, and things like that, that went to him as well. But, other than that, Gran had actually put everything else in my name. She knew that Crystal was just in it for the money, and she wanted to make sure she didn't get a single cent. The will stipulated that my portion of the estate provide Jason with a monthly 'income,' for lack of a better word. Basically he was going to be getting $10,000 a month without doing anything for it.

Not long after that, Crystal told Jason she'd lost the baby, and moved out of his house. I honestly don't think she ever actually WAS pregnant. As soon as she'd moved out of Jason's place, she hired this sleazy ass of a lawyer to sue me for a whole bunch of money from the estate. They argued that Gran had meant to make an allotment for Crystal in her will, but was unable to due to her failing health. It's still going through all the legal red tape. Ever since then, though, Crystal will show up her every once in a while. I wouldn't be surprised if she was actually just showing up when I wasn't here, trying to figure out how to break in and find the jewelry. What she doesn't realize is that not only is it NOT here, it's not even in the state!"

"Wow. No wonder you don't like the bitch. I tell ya what; if you need any more legal assistance on it, let me know. A good friend of mine from New Orleans is a widely known lawyer, and he specializes in estate planning. Just having his name attached to your case would make almost any other lawyer tuck tail and run."

I couldn't believe how sweet Eric was being about this new discovery. Most men would ask how much the estate was worth. Or, how much **I** was worth. But not Eric. He just wanted to offer to help me out. I wonder what he would say if he **did** know how much I'm worth, technically speaking.

"Well, I sure do appreciate the offer baby, but, I think I should be okay for now. For the time being, I think I'll just continue to work with the lawyer Gran was using. If something else comes up, I might take you up that offer."

He began moving his hands up and down my sides, and placing kisses along my back. "I have another offer I'd like you to take me up on, if it's not too much to ask." How does he do that? One minute we can be talking about something completely normal. And then in just an instant, he can switch to having sex literally drip out of the sound of his voice.

"Hmmm…maybe you should give me an example of the things you'd like me to do." He chuckled, shifted me in his arms so he was holding me bridal style, and stood, making his way back to my bedroom.

An hour and a half later (what can I say, this man is **GOOD**), we lay in each other's arms completely sated. I rested my head on his chest and played with the light sprinkling of hair covering it.

"Sookie?"

"Yes, love?"

"I want to ask you something, but I don't want you to get the wrong impression of why I'm asking."

I was pretty sure I knew where this was going. "Go on."

"Well, I'm curious. What **is** the net value of your holdings?" Yup, it was exactly the question I'd been holding.

"Well, I'm not absolutely positive. The last time I saw the statements was 2 months ago, and I know that the value has increased a little bit since then."

"What was it at the time?"

"Oh, something like $80 million."


	15. Chapter 15

**EPOV**

"$80 million. Are you serious?" I waited impatiently for her reply.

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" She sounded nervous about my answer.

"Sookie, you can't let everything just sit and wait for whatever Crystal's lawyer is going to try. You need to be more proactive in this situation."

She sat up and looked me in the eye. "Eric, why is this such a big deal to you?" I could hear in the tone of her voice that she was questioning my intentions. I desperately wanted her to know that they were completely pure.

"Sookie, I've heard the way you talk about your family. I know how important they are to you. You have to admit that, if Crystal got her hands on any of it, it would devastate you, right?" She slowly nodded. "See, and that's what I can't have. I will not idly sit by and watch someone else make you miserable if it's in my power to stop it. What you feel, I feel."

She put her head back to rest on my body, but I could feel that she was still holding the smallest amount of tension in her. "You told Crystal that you're my boyfriend."

"Yes, I did. And I'm sorry if I said something that would make you uncomfortable. At the time, it felt like the most compelling way to help." I didn't dare to tell her that I was hoping she'd allow me to make it the truth.

"Well, considering that you were standing there in just your jeans, and I was in your shirt and my panties, I think any other type of answer would've seemed a little off." She chuckled lightly at this, and I did as well. I loved her sense of humor. "I'm wondering though, if you might like to actually fill that position in my life?" How could she not see that's what I wanted more than anything? I love her. I need her.

"Sookie, there's a long list of positions I'd like to fill in your life," I said with smirk, "and boyfriend just happens to be right at the top."

"What else is on the list?"

"Oh, let's see. Friend. Protector. Confidant. Lover." I didn't dare name the others for fear of her rejection. That conversation could take place another time.

"Well, that's a bit of a pointless list, silly. You already fill all those positions for me."

I couldn't control my reaction to that statement. Before I knew what was happening, Sookie was lying underneath me, and we were kissing very passionately. I just couldn't get enough of her. I wanted to spend every minute or every day with her. And, it wasn't just the sex (which was **BEYOND** incredible), but the way she made me feel. I had been nervous about how people would receive me once I'd been released from prison. Let's face it, if you were to meet somebody on the street, and find out that they had just been released from prison after shooting someone 10 times in the chest, would you be likely to try to get to know that person? Would you trust them in business dealings? Probably not. But, Sookie didn't judge me at all. From the first moment we met, she pushed and pushed to get past all the shields I had up around my heart, until all the only logical thing for me to do was to lay it all out there for her to see. And she didn't shun away from what she saw. She embraced it. She quite literally saved me from my own self-imposed prison.

As I began to place feather-soft kisses along her neck, I noticed that her skin had begun to look red and just the tiniest bit swollen. We'd already made love twice in the few hours that I'd been here. Her body was tired and worn out. As much as I wanted to bury myself inside her again, I knew she needed rest. I slowly pulled away from her, rolled to her side, and pulled her in close to me.

"What's wrong, baby?" She asked, sounding confused.

"Sookie, you're exhausted. It wouldn't be fair of me to continue my assault on your tender flesh. I don't want to hurt you. I want you to always enjoy every minute of our love making, and that won't happen if I make you saddle sore." I felt her shake slightly with laughter.

"Eric, I love you, and I cherish every time you touch me. But, I do have to say, I'm kinda glad you're ready to call it a night. I am feeling a little worn out. It's been several months since I've been with anyone, and, to be honest, none of my previous lovers have been as, um, gifted in the endowment area as you are."

She began laughing when I smiled brightly. Sure, women say all the time that size doesn't matter, it's how you use what you've got that counts. But, let's face it, what woman wouldn't want a man who had the size, **and** knew how to use it? I don't mind saying that I put myself in that category.

"You know, Eric, pride cometh before the fall."

"Then I'd better get myself a parachute, because having you love me is taking my ego to heights I've never before experienced."

She leaned up on one elbow, softly placed her lips to mine, and whispered, "I love you." Soon afterwards, she was asleep in my arms.

**SPOV**

"No way, mister, you put those back right this instant!" I felt like I was babysitting a two-year old, not grocery shopping with my boyfriend. Did he honestly think I was going to allow him to stay with me for the next 3 days and eat Ramen Noodles? Not likely.

He laughed at my expression. "Sookie, I'm not buying them so I can make ramen. I'm buying them because you use the uncooked noodles and flavor powder in my favorite Chinese Chicken Salad recipe. I thought I might make it for lunch for you tomorrow." It was hard to stay mad at a gorgeous man offering to cook for you.

"Fine. But, I'm giving you this warning right now. If you ever attempt to actually **cook** ramen noodles in my presence, I suggest you put a garbage can in front of me beforehand."

"Um, why?"

"Because my second semester in college, ramen noodles were the only thing my roommate could afford to eat. She had them twice a day, every day for like 4 months! Now, just the smell of it makes me nauseous!"

We finished up our shopping, and were loading our bags into my trunk when my cell phone rang. Looking at the ID, I noticed it was Sam.

"Hi, Sam, what's up?"

"Sookie? Wow, you sound incredible. I guess that after almost getting killed the other day, you'd be in shock still."

"Nah, you know that's not like me. I'm enjoying what time I do have, instead of wasting it on being depressed."

"Good for you, cher. Now, the reason I'm calling is because I wanted to let you know that we got an update on Quinn. It looks like the bullet more or less skimmed the corners of his lungs and heart, but, came to rest in the middle of spine. He's not paralyzed; however, it looks like he'll have a significant limp for the rest of his life."

This was entirely my fault. If I'd been smart enough to stay with Pam, or simply wait to hear the truth of what had happened with Eric and Ginger, none of this would have happened. Eric must have sensed my disappointment in myself, because he put his arm around my shoulder and hugged me close into him, while Sam told me that Quinn was going to need to have another surgery eventually, but that for now, he'd be working with a physical therapist. I thanked Sam, and told him I would call him back later on. Since he was the one who had arranged for Eric to be here, the least I could do was thank him properly.

Once we got home and got the groceries all put away, I grabbed my ipod and speaker doc and turned on some music as I began preparing dinner for the two of us. Eric said it had been years since he'd had home-made chicken noodle soup, so I offered to make him some using my Gran's old recipe.

Because it was getting towards the end of the fall, the sun went down earlier, and once it was down, the cold could creep over the land quickly.

I had just finished chopping vegetables to add to the pot, when lights all over the house flickered, then died. I could hear the sound of rain and thunder, and knew that it must be a fall storm. Fall storms are my favorite. I walked around the dimly lit kitchen, trying to find some candles and matches. Once I'd set a few up, I was about to resume my cooking, when I felt Eric's arms slide around my waist.

"I believe they're playing our song, my dear." He nodded towards my ipod, which was now playing 'I Wanna Love You Forever,' by Jessica Simpson. (No making fun now, it's a good song). He pulled me into his arms, held me close, and we danced around the kitchen in the candlelight. He made me safe, and beautiful.

The song ended, but he continued to hold me close. That is, until the next song began, and he burst into laughter. It just didn't feel right to continue slow dancing to Justin Timberlake singing 'Sexy Back.'

I pushed away from him, and went back to work on the soup. Now, I can't sing worth a darn, but, I can dance. So, as I pushed vegetables into a pot on the stove, my head was boppin' away, and my hips were swaying with the beat. Apparently, dinner was going to have to wait, because after a minute or two of watching me dance and cook, Eric decided it was all he could take. He turned me around to face him, put his hands under my knees and brought my legs up to straddle his waist, and kissed me fiercely as we made our way back to the bedroom. I'd never made love with a thunderstorm as the soundtrack, but, I have to say, it was spectacular.

**A/N****Sorry this chapter is so short and not much happens. I'm having a bit of writer's block right now. I'm hoping things will pick back up tomorrow, because Eric has special plans for their day together at the farm house. Oh, and PS, the whole Ramen thing…yeah, that really happened to me in college. My roommates ate it every day for a whole semester, and that was 10 years ago, and the smell of it still to this day makes me gag.**


	16. Chapter 16

**SPOV**

I woke the next morning to the feel of Eric kissing my face, and the smell of coffee and maple syrup. I smiled and opened my eyes.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said and smiled back.

"Mmm, I could get used to waking up like that." I sat up and stretched, and noticed that Eric had a tray full of food sitting on the dresser. "What's all this?"

"Well, I was woken up quite a bit earlier than I would've liked to have been by a frantic phone call from Pam. Apparently there was a problem with a couple of deliveries. By the time we got it all straightened out, I was too keyed up to go back to sleep. So, I made you breakfast in bed. We've got some French toast, fruit, and coffee."

I was once again reminded of why I love this man so much. I'd never before had a relationship where the man took it upon himself to take care of me in every way. I'd been with men who enjoyed doing things for me, and helping me with things I wasn't capable of doing on my own. But Eric was the first man who, not only did those things, but also would surprise me by doing simple, run-of-the-mill, every day things just to make me smile.

I went into the bathroom (making sure to brush my teeth, morning breath is gross), and was saddened to see him fully dressed and in the process of putting his shoes on. "Are you going somewhere, Eric?"

"I am, but I'll only be gone for about an hour. Thanks to their little indiscretion, both Clancy and Ginger are no longer employed at Hell's Inferno. Pam has decided on whom to promote to head waitress, but I need to sign the contract before it becomes official. I'd like to get that done today so that she can start earning the higher rate as soon as possible. I'd hate to have one of my employees taking on extra responsibilities without getting paid for it. That's how you loose good people to your competitors." I knew he was a good business man, but I was previously unaware that he also treated his employees with such respect.

"Oh, well, I could go with you, if you'd like."

"**NO!**" The abruptness of his answer stunned me. "I mean, I'd love to have you with me, and I'm sure Pam would love to see you again, but, I'd rather you be able to enjoy your breakfast before it gets cold." It was very obvious that he was keeping something from me. However, since I'd made some wrong assumptions about him already, I decided I would give him the benefit of the doubt. If he wasn't telling me something, I'm sure there is a good reason for it. He needs me to trust me completely.

"Alright. Give Pam a hug for me though, okay?"

He laughed out loud. "Sookie, in all honesty, Pam's not really the _hugging_ type. In fact, she generally shuns physical contact unless it's during sex."

"Oh, I guess that means I'll probably never hug her then."

"Well, you know, if you'd like the _**experience**_, I could probably arrange it. I'm sure she'd be game….All I care about is that I get to watch," he said with a naughty wink.

He spent the next few moments dodging the many pillows I threw at his head. When I was out of ammunition, he walked over, gave me a quick, but very deep, kiss, and said he'd see me in a while.

While eating the wonderful breakfast Eric had made for me, I quickly flipped through the newspaper. I'd never been the type of person who sits down and reads every article in every section, usually preferring to skim the headlines for something that would interest me. I'd purposefully avoided the main section yesterday, not wanting to read the local reporters thoughts on the confrontation in the cemetery. Part of me felt largely relieved that I would never have to feel threatened or afraid of Bill Compton ever again. But, I also felt horrible about Quinn getting shot.

With that in mind, I picked up my cell phone and dialed the hospital, asking to be transferred to Quinn's room. Maybe he would feel up to speaking with me for a moment, so I could once again tell him how grateful I was for his help.

"Hello?" He sounded tired and groggy.

"Quinn? It's Sookie."

"Oh, hey Sook! It's good to hear from ya. How are you?"

"I'm good. What about you? How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm okay. The doc gave me some kick-ass painkillers, so most of the time I feel like I'm on top of the world!"

"Quinn, I can't thank you enough for what you did. I'm so sorry that you got hurt. I wish none of this had ever happened."

"Sookie, it's okay. It's not your fault. And besides, when I took on a job as head of security for a halfway house, I knew this was a possibility. There's really nothing to apologize for."

"Quinn, you saved my life. If there's ever anything I can do for you, please, don't hesitate to ask, okay?"

"Sure, Sook. Hey, I'm gonna let you go, okay. My pain pills are kicking in, so I'm gonna try and get some sleep." He sounded pretty out of it.

"Okay, Quinn. I'll come later to visit you later this week, okay? Get some rest."

He hung up without saying another word. No matter what he'd said about it being a hazard of his occupation, I would never forgive myself for letting Quinn get shot. I shouldn't have left the bar that afternoon. I should have known better than to go somewhere alone. I had put everyone I care for in danger. I owed Quinn and Eric my life.

I decided it was time to stop brooding, and begin getting ready for the day. I took my dishes into the kitchen, laughing when I saw what a mess Eric had left it in after making breakfast. I cleaned up and loaded the dishes into the dishwasher. I was just about to hop in the shower when I heard a car coming up the lane. I looked out the bedroom window and saw Eric unloading a large box from the trunk of my car. I walked back out to the living room to ask if he needed any help with anything.

"No, I'm good. But, I have a favor to ask. Do you think you could stay in your room until I tell you it's okay to come out?" What the hell?

"Um…."

"Oh, it's nothing bad love. I have a bit of a surprise planned for you, and I don't want you to see any of it until it's all prepared."

"Okay, I guess I could do that. About how long do you think you'll need? I was just going to hop in the shower."

"I've got a better idea. Why don't you run yourself a nice, hot, bath? Soothe your tired, sore muscles."

"That does sound good, actually. Once I'm out of the tub, I just lie on the bed and read. Just let me know when you're done, okay?"

He nodded, and I turned and went back to the bedroom. I filled the tub full of water, and added some lilac scented bubble bath. I relaxed into the soothing water and scent. It felt like it had been a tremendously long time since I'd been able to feel this much at ease. When I felt the water starting to get cold, I washed up and got out. I dried my hair and pulled it into a ponytail, and put on some comfortable clothes. I lie down on the top of the bed, but suddenly felt very tired, and opted for a nap instead of a book.

**EPOV**

I really did need to sign an employment contract for the newly promoted head waitress, but it wasn't anything that couldn't wait. I just needed to give Sookie a good enough excuse to get away long enough to get what I needed from Pam.

After I'd sent Sookie up to take a bath, I began unpacking the many photo albums I had Pam retrieve from my home. Thank God Cindy made such a big deal about documenting everything. Had I known that I would have so few precious moments with my family, I would've taken more photos, I would held them more often, for longer. I would've made a point to tell each of them how much I loved them each day, and shown it every minute.

No, I can't dwell on that now. There is a time and place for grief, and this is not it. This moment is for opening myself up to Sookie. For showing her where I came from. For showing her what made me the man I am today. A man who loves her deeply, and has learned from past experiences. I will not make the same mistake again. Sookie will always know what much I care for her. She will always know that I want her in my life, in my arms, in my bed.

Once I had placed the photo albums around the room, I grabbed the salad I made earlier, along with some bowls and spoons, a couple of sodas, and put them on the rug in front of the fireplace. There, it was complete.

I walked to the bedroom to let Sookie know that I was ready for her to join me, and I found her sleeping. My ego was a little excited that she'd been so tired recently, hoping it was from all the sexing we'd done. But, my heart knew that she must be emotionally exhausted. What, with the situation with Compton, Quinn being shot, and then adding our relationship on top. A lesser woman would have collapsed by now. But, not my Sookie. A lesser woman, she most definitely is not.

She looked so peaceful; I couldn't help but join her. She was lying on her side, so I kicked my shoes off, lay down behind her, and pulled her body to mine. I wrapped my arm around her waist, and savored the sweet scent of lilacs. Even completely dead to the world, her presence was calming to me. It wasn't long before I drifted off to my own dreams.

"_Daddy, Daddy, come swing me!" Lizzie was sitting on the swing in her favorite park, asking for me to push her._

"_Okay, sweetheart, hold on, here we go!" I pulled back slightly on the swing, and let it loose, watching her fly forward, squeals of laughter flowing from her. _

"_Mama, look! Mama, look!" She shouted to Cindy, who was sitting not far away playing in the sand with Mattie. _

"_I see you, punkin! You're so high! Wow!!" Cindy's reaction caused Lizzie to squeal all over again. Mattie looked up at his sister flying through the air, and giggled and clapped his chubby little hands together over and over. I swear he thinks she hung the moon. I'm fairly certain he's right._

_I continued to push Lizzie on the swing a few more times, and then let it slowly come to rest, lifting her out of the seat and hugging her tightly in my arms. The moment I let her down, she ran to Cindy and Mattie, began making silly faces at her brother, loving it when he laughed at her. I smiled at my beautiful family._

"_Eric, I think Lizzie lost her shoe over by the slide, can you get it for me, honey?" _

"_Sure thing, Cin." I walked to the slides, and picked up the small pink tennis shoe that was sitting in the sand. Then from behind me, I heard screeching tires, crunching metal and breaking glass. I whirled around, desperate to see their faces. But, they were gone. I was all alone in the park. They were gone._

"Eric. Eric honey. It's time to wake up." Sookie's voice pulled me from my dream. "Are you okay? You were a little restless there for a while."

"Yeah. Just a bad dream." I took a minute to compose myself. "Well," I said sitting up, "are you all ready for your surprise?"

She smiled in anticipation. "Yes, I am. Show me the way, lover."

**SPOV**

Eric held my hand, and led me back into the living room. There was a quilt spread out on the ground in front of the fireplace, and what looked like books in several locations on the floor. "What's all this?"

"Well, you said you wanted to see pictures of my family, right?"

I understood immediately what this was. Eric must've had Pam bring him all the photos from his home. I knew that this must've been the first time he'd seen these pictures since he'd been in prison, possibly even since his family was killed. I leaned up, and placed a kiss to his lips. "Thank you for this. It's incredible."

"You're welcome, love."

We sat down on the floor and got comfortable. Eric handed me a bowl of the Chinese chicken salad he'd made, and a soda, and began opening up albums and showing me photos. He showed me pictures of him with his parents at the air force base in Sweden. Pam and Cindy with their Dad. Pam, Cindy and Eric as children, dressed up for Halloween.

Next came pictures from high school, which included a few pictures of Pam and Eric posing as a couple. I'd forgotten that he said they'd dated for a while. He picked up a specific photo album reverently, almost as if it was too delicate to touch. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and opened the album. Inside were pictures of Lizzie. The day she was born. Cindy holding her for the first time. Pam holding her. Pam and Cindy sitting on Cindy's hospital bed while they held Lizzie's sleeping form. Lizzie trying desperately to blow out the candles on her first birthday cake. In a cute little swimsuit and sunglasses at a pool, playing with Pam.

The next album contained pictures of Eric and Cindy on their wedding day. They were married in what looked like a meadow with wildflowers everywhere. He wore a light blue linen suit that matched his eyes perfectly. Cindy looked absolutely beautiful in a white satin dress. It was very simple, but it fit her perfectly, and she looked very elegant, very regal. Pam stood next to Cindy in the next photo, dressed in a beautiful pale yellow dress, and held Lizzie in her arms. Lizzie's dress matched Pam's in style, but was the same color as Eric's suit.

Then came pictures of Cindy during various stages of her pregnancy with Mattie. The most beautiful of them all, being one where Cindy was laying down, possibly sleeping. Eric had laid his head on her stomach, and had a shy smile on his mouth, while he felt for his child to move inside his wife.

Pictures of Eric and Cindy at the hospital the day Mattie was born. Pam and Lizzie were in some as well. Then came the pictures of Mattie. He was such a beautiful baby. I could already see the resemblance to Eric's infant photos that he'd spoken of before.

It took several hours to look through the various photos, because Eric had a funny story to accompany the majority of them. At times, he looked and sounded sad as he spoke of the family he'd lost, but, for the most part, he was cheerful, remembering how wonderful the time they'd had together was.

By the time we'd finished going through the photos, the sun was just beginning to lower over the horizon. I stood, held my hand for Eric to take and said, "come on, I want to show you something."

He stood and followed me onto the front porch. We sat on the porch swing, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we watched the sunset across the sky. It was absolutely beautiful, and I said so.

"Yes, beautiful would describe it perfectly." I turned to see that Eric was looking at me, rather than the sunset. He lifted his hand to caress my cheek, and when he allowed his thumb to graze my lips, I kissed it, and sucked it into my mouth. He slowly pulled me until our bodies were as close together as possible, and looked into my eyes with a fiery passion. He bent to kiss my lips, and it started slowly, tentatively. After a few moments, the softness morphed with our urgency to touch one another. He swept me up in his arms, and took the stairs two at a time, reaching my bedroom in record speed.

Our limbs were entangled as we hurriedly removed each others clothes, before crashing onto the bed in one another's embrace. I had to pull my face from his to gasp for air, and he lowered my mouth to take place kisses along my breast. When he pulled my nipple gently into his mouth, I couldn't help but moan in pure joy. Oh, the things this man would do to my body. He smiled and laughed softly, before moving his attention to the other breast, so as to not play favorites.

I felt his hand glide down my stomach, and towards my center. I knew that I was on fire with wanting him, but was amazed at how easily his finger slid inside of me. "Sookie, you're so wet for me love."

I couldn't take it anymore. I felt I might spontaneously combust if I didn't have him inside me. "Eric, please," I moaned between gasps.

"Please what, lover?"

"I need you. Make me yours, please."

"Oh, yes," he growled, as he moved his hand to hitch my leg over his hip, and buried himself deep inside me. I heard a sound of pure ecstasy, only faintly registering it came from my own lips. I dug my fingers into his shoulders as I tried to pull him closer. I needed to touch him with every surface of my body.

He continued to thrust into me, and began kissing me, the movements of his tongue in my mouth working in tandem with the place where our bodies were joined. He gradually increased his speed, until I thought that I might be pounded into oblivion. Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore, he pulled his mouth away from mine and looked deeply into my eyes. "You're mine, as I am yours." Those words meant more to me than I could ever have imagined. And then, the world around us exploded into stars and white flames.

As I lay curled against his chest a little while later, I tried to push back the thoughts that we'd have to return to Shreveport tomorrow. I wanted nothing more than to stay locked away here forever. In the arms of my lover.


	17. Chapter 17

**SPOV**

Since Eric had drove Sam's car to the farmhouse, and I'd driven myself earlier, Eric and I had to depart in separate vehicles. Neither one of us wanted to be away from the other yet, but, unfortunately there was no way around it. Eric said he needed to meet with Pam for a bit, so he took my car to Hell's Inferno, and I took Sam's back to Hope House. I needed to check my emails and meet with Sam for a few minutes, and then Sam would drop me at the club, and Eric and I would take my car to visit Quinn in the hospital.

I had just sat down at my desk and began opening the pile of mail when there was a knock at the door, and Sam stuck his head in. "Hey, you're back!"

"Yup. Just got here a few minutes ago."

"How are you holding up? No nightmares, anything like that?"

"Oddly, no. I don't know if it's that I'm still in shock, or if I'm just so relieved to be able to stop looking over my shoulder at all times, but, I'm doing fairly well."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure getting laid doesn't hurt, too, right?!?"

"Sam Merlotte! That is absolutely none of your business, and you know it."

"Actually, it will continue to be my business until the day you discontinue being my friend." He smiled brightly, convinced he'd won the argument.

"Fine, you're right. But this conversation is between two friends, not between boss and employee, right?"

"Yup."

"Well, in that case," I stood, walked over to him, and wrapped him in a huge hug, "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am that you loaned him your car and sent him to my place."

"I suddenly get the feeling this is more than just a casual relationship, Sookie."

"He told me he loves me. Well, after I told him I love him, of course. Why is it that guys never say it first?" Sam laughed at this.

"Other than the lovey dovey stuff, anything else happen while you guys were there?"

"Now that you mention it, Crystal showed up." I'm sure the look of disgust that crossed his features matched my own. "She still thinks she's going to end up getting money from Gran's estate."

"Honestly, Sookie, I don't know why you don't just hire an estate lawyer to put a rest to all of this. You can't just sit around and wait for her lawyer to find a way to argue her case."

"Ha! You sound just like Eric. In fact, he said he even has a friend that is an estate attorney from New Orleans that he suggests I use."

"Oh yeah, anyone I know?"

"Eric said it was a Mr. Cataliades."

"No Shit?!? Sookie, he's the best. I heard he has like a 3-year wait list for new clients. If Eric has an in with this guy, you should take him up on it." Maybe it was time to start doing something about this. I was beyond ready to stop Crystal from harassing me.

"I'll talk to Eric about it this afternoon. So, since Hoyt is taking on Eric, and Barry's been released, any idea on how long 'til you'll have somebody new for me?"

I could tell by the look on his face that he had something to say, and that he wasn't looking forward to it. "Yeah, um, about that."

He paused for longer that I would've liked.

"Out with it, Sam."

"I spoke with the parole board, and since Hoyt isn't state-certified for violent cases, you have to keep Eric as your case."

"**WHAT?!?**" I couldn't believe this was happening. The **only** reason I'd allowed myself to start a relationship with Eric was because I knew I wouldn't be his case worker anymore, and that it wouldn't be construed as impropriety. "How long have you known this, Sam? Because if you knew before you sent him to my place for 4 days, I'm gonna kill you."

"No, no, the parole board gave me their ruling morning. And, because of his 'heroic deed' that saved both you and Quinn from most likely being killed, they've made several concessions that normally wouldn't fly. I promise you, this will all be fine. Let me tell you what they have in mind."

As Sam informed me of the details of the ruling, I felt my anger leave, and joy replaced it. This was even better than I had imagined!

"Well, I think I'm going to quite enjoy this arrangement." He winked at my sentiment, and I stole a look at the clock on my wall. "Oh, shoot, it's already 2pm? We'd better get going. I'm supposed to meet Eric at Hell's Inferno soon so we can go visit Quinn before visiting hours end at 4."

Sam and I made our way out to his car, and he drove me to Hell's Inferno. I was completely ecstatic about telling him about the new arrangement Sam had just informed me of. Because the bar wasn't open until later in the evening, I walked around the back to use the employee entrance, pushing a code into the security at the pad as Eric had shown me last time I was here. As I got closer to the administrative area, I heard Pam and Eric talking in Pam's office. I didn't want to disturb them if they were in a meeting, so, I figured I'd just wait in Eric's office. However, what I heard when I passed by Pam's door stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do? Don't you want to at least **talk** to her about this first, Eric?" came Pam's voice.

"No. She can't know. I'm sure she wouldn't go for it, so, for the time being, I'm going to have to keep this a secret from her."

"Eric, I'll do this for you, but, I really don't think Sookie's going to like it."

"Oh, Pam, I can guarantee you she won't. But, it's too late to turn back now. This all would've gone so much easier if she didn't have so much money…"

I knew right then that this was not a conversation I wanted to hear. I quickly made my way to Eric's office, and decided to sit in the waiting area outside of it, rather than inside. I didn't want to startle him when he got back. I silently replayed what I'd heard in my head. Hadn't I just said yesterday that I wasn't going to be making assumptions anymore, that I would wait to find out the truth before jumping to conclusions? I suddenly found it very difficult for me to do just that. I was so lost in thought, I didn't even hear it when Eric walked up to me.

"Well hello beautiful. How long have you been here?" It had only been a few hours since I'd seen him, but it felt like years.

"Just a few minutes. Sam dropped me off and then had to head to court. If we want to be able to see Quinn today we need to head over to the hospital soon, visiting time is only for another hour.

He said he'd be ready in a jiff, went into his office and signed a couple of forms, and then came out and said he was ready to go. I took the keys to my car from him, and we set out for the hospital. I decided that during our drive would be a good time to discuss his new parole situation.

"Eric, I have some news for you. I spoke with Sam earlier, and he said that because of the nature of the crime you committed, no one else at Hope House is board certified to handle your case. So, I'll still be your case worker." I saw the smile vanish from his features, much like it must've from mine when Sam told me this earlier.

"Okay. And what exactly does that mean for 'us'?"

"Well, in the situation where you were still required to live at Hope House, with me being your case worker, we'd have to put our relationship on hold." I saw rage and disappointment fight for domination of his features.

"**However**, that's not the case for us." He looked at me with a confused look. "Sam has some pull with the parole board, and they were able to come to an agreement. Because of your heroics in saving the lives of Quinn and I, the parole board has decided to grant you an early release. Starting today, you won't have to live at Hope House anymore. You can stay at your own home, now. And, since at this point my only function as your case worker is to ensure you're still working and that you haven't fled the state, then, our relationship doesn't have to change." I had just parked the car in the hospital parking lot when I said this last part. Eric immediately jumped out of the car, came to my door, opened, and pulled me into his arms.

"This is wonderful, Sookie. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this."

"I know how you feel. I'm pretty damned excited about it, myself."

He took my hand in his, and we walked into the hospital to find Quinn's room. As we were riding the elevator to the correct floor, I mentioned to him that, if the offer still stood, I'd appreciate him giving Mr. Cataliades a call for me and seeing what he could do to help with the Crystal situation. He immediately took his cell phone out of his pocket, and called Pam and asked her to email Mr. Cataliades asking him to call Eric as soon as he had the chance. This phone call reminded me of what I'd heard in Pam's office earlier. I needed to trust him, but, it was difficult right now, unfortunately.

We reached the door that led to Quinn's hospital room, and I knocked softly before sticking my head in. "You awake, sleepy head?" I saw Quinn stir softly in his bed.

"Oh thank God, Sookie, Eric, **please** come in."

I couldn't quite put my finger on why he was so enthusiastic about it, but before I could spend too much time thinking about it, he added, "The freakin' nurses here just keep coming in like every 15 minutes to check on me. They're driving me nuts."

"Oh, darlin', its cause you're so gorgeous. Haven't you ever noticed that you have a tendency to make people of the female persuasion _swoon_ quite easily?"

"Can it, Stackhouse." I knew Quinn was definitely on the road to mending. He wouldn't have joked this easily with me if he hadn't been feeling better. We sat and talked about his doctor's instructions, and some of the things he'd need to do in order to speed up his recovery time. At about 3:55pm, Quinn, looking absolutely exhausted, asked if I would mind it if he spoke to Eric alone for a moment. I was extremely curious as to why he would want this, but, told him yes, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and went into the hall to wait for Eric. Apparently, eavesdropping was going to be a good buddy of mine, today. I stood next to the closed door, trying to hear through it.

"Listen, man," Quinn began, "for what it's worth, I want to say thank you for saving my life. And, even though I know you have your own reasons for it, for saving Sookie's as well. Even though she and I aren't together anymore, it makes me feel better to see that she has someone who can take care of her. That being said, I need your help. Sam phoned me earlier to say that you guys were on your way, and, he told me about the new parole arrangement. Especially with you guys being away from Hope House on such a regular basis, I need you to continue to guard her properly. The more and more I think about what Compton said in that graveyard, the more positive I am that there is a traitor in our midst. Someone had been feeding Compton information."

When I heard these words, I felt the cold fingers of fear grip themselves back around my heart. Will it **ever** be over?


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N In the middle of this chapter, the timeline jumps ahead a couple of months. I needed to do this for continuaton purposes. Hope you enjoy!!**

**EPOV**

I was elated to hear of my new parole arrangements. Not only would I be able to live in my own home again, but, I wouldn't have to avoid physical contact with Sookie. It was hard enough to stay away from her while we were staying at Hope House, but, after staying with her at the farmhouse, I knew I didn't want to spend a single night without her in my arms.

When she mentioned trying to set up a meeting with Mr. Cataliades, I tensed slightly. How was I going to accomplish this? I quickly pulled out my cell phone and hit the speed dial for Pam.

"Eric, you haven't even been gone for 45 minutes, what is it this time? I **do** have other things to do besides being your personal secretary." What a cordial greeting she had.

"Pam, listen, Sookie wants to go ahead and set up a meeting with Mr. Cataliades. Can you email him for me and ask him to give me a call at his earlier convenience?"

"Let's see, I'm assuming that she is there with you right now, correct?"

"Absolutely."

"So, you don't really want me to email him, I'm still to go forward with your previous decision?"

"Yes, that will work fine."

"Eric, you need to tell her about this sooner rather than later. You know it's just going to fuck everything up if you do this without her knowledge and consent."

"Yes, I am aware of that. Just do your best. Sookie and I will stop by there after we visit Quinn; I have some news to share with you."

"Yes, yes, fine, fine. May I please get back to my work, now?"

"Absolutely. Goodbye, Pam."

As Sookie and Quinn joked a little back and forth, I let my mind wander to my conversation with Pam. She was right, the longer I kept this from Sookie, the more upset she was going to be. But, I refuse to tell her anything about it until I know it will work. I don't want to give her any false hope and then have things fall through.

When Quinn asked Sookie to leave us so he could speak to me in private, I got a little nervous. I was positive he was going to bring up the fact that he'd only been shot because I let Sookie leave the bar without me that day. Well, saying I 'let' her leave isn't really accurate. More, I didn't do more to stop her. The guilt of that was already weighing heavily on me. But, when he mentioned someone giving Bill information, my mind raced back to what I heard Compton say that afternoon. Oh, yes, he said something about Quinn still being Sookie's boyfriend. Until we were able to discover who was giving Bill information about Sookie's private life, she wasn't safe on her own.

"Should we tell her about this, or try to keep it quiet?" He asked me.

"Quinn, come on, Sookie's a smart girl, if we don't tell her, she'll figure it out on her own and then be pissed that we didn't tell her."

He laughed slightly, "Yeah, that's true. Just go ahead and tell her that we know Bill was most likely buying information from someone, and that we want to keep a close eye on her until we find out who it was."

As Sookie drove us back to Hell's Inferno, I told her about what Quinn and I had discussed. She didn't seem too shocked, so I thought maybe she might've figured this all out on her own. She said that she had wondered at Bill referring to Quinn as her boyfriend also, and guessed that whoever had given Bill the information, either wasn't someone very close to them, or hadn't been in contact with them for a while, since it was obvious that they'd broken up weeks ago.

When we reached Hell's Inferno, Sookie asked if she could use the phone in my office to check the messages on her work phone, so I used that time to let Pam know that I'd be staying at my home again.

"Do you think you'll be okay to do this, Eric? I know that you're a lot stronger now than you were several years ago. I just want to make sure you're really up for this." She didn't worry often, so when she did, I knew to take it seriously.

"Yes, Pam, I'll be fine. I know that I'm not ready to go into certain rooms, yet, but, it will be nice to be able to sleep in my own bed, again."

"That's actually part of my concern, Eric. Are you going to be okay having Sookie sleeping with you in the same bed you shared with Cindy?" Wow, I hadn't actually thought of it that way. Yes, I can imagine that it will be difficult for the first few days, but, I know it will get better with time. Cindy and I had always been very straightforward with one another. She told me that if anything ever happened to her, that she didn't want me to wallow in misery, but get on with my life. And she knew I felt the same if the roles were reversed.

"You know, Pam, I'm thinking I'm just going to need to play it by ear."

That's when Sookie decided to join us again. She and went back to Hope House to get my personal belongings, and set out for my home. It was a little outside of the main area of town, and took about 20 minutes to get there. I heard Sookie suck in a deep breath when she pulled into the parking area. Perhaps this wasn't quite what she was expecting.

"Um, Eric, how many rooms does this place have?" She asked, still not allowing her gaze to leave the front of my home.

"Let's see, there's 8 bedrooms, 6 full baths, 2 half baths, a family room, living room, and dining room, and then a pool out back."

"And, exactly how many of those rooms did you actually use??" This was becoming almost comical, especially coming from someone with $80 million in the bank, so to speak!"

"Well, Cindy and I used one bedroom, Mattie's nursery used another bedroom, and Lizzie had her own room. We used one of the bedrooms as a play room, and it's where all their toys were. There's an apartment out back where you would normally see the pool house, and Pam stays there."

I took her on a tour of the house, opening the various rooms and letting her take a quick peak. However, when we passed the children's bedrooms, and their play room, I nodded to them, told her what they were, and just kept walking past them.

"Eric, since I'm going to be staying here with you for awhile, until we find out who was helping Bill, I think maybe you should tell me why you were avoiding the children's rooms."

"They're locked. They only get unlocked twice a week for the housekeeper to go in and dust and vacuum. I'm not going to leave them like that forever. I do realize that it's not good for my mental health. But, I wasn't ready for that before I went to prison, and I don't feel like I am right now, either."

"Okay. I'm sorry if I was asking something you weren't comfortable talking about, but, I needed to know so I didn't make you uncomfortable in your own home."

"Sookie, I wish that, at least for the time being, you would be able to think of this as **our** home." The most beautiful smile I'd ever seen lit up her face at that statement.

**SPOV**

Three months had passed since Eric had been granted an early release. We were no closer to figuring out who had been giving Bill information, so, I was still staying with him at his place. We often spent weekends at the farmhouse just to get away from things. We'd even discussed me moving in there with him once Bill's accomplice was finally caught.

Pam and I had become good friends. We didn't have much in common, but, our mutual desire to see Eric finally be free of his demons gave us some common ground. She confided in me that while he was in prison, she had started a small non-profit organization that tried to increase awareness of the effects of driving while impaired. They had a large fundraiser once a year, and that's where the majority of her funding came from. The closer and closer it got to this year's fundraiser, the more compelled I felt to help her out. So, that's why I found myself at my attorney's office, going over some financial information to see how much would be appropriate to donate to her cause. It was while I was going over the paperwork there that I discovered what it was that Eric had been keeping from me.

I was so angry I could've killed him. I drove to Hell's Inferno ready to tear him limb from limb. When I found him in his office, I walked in, slammed the door shut behind me, and let him have it.

"Eric Northman, of all the stupid, fucked-up, high handed shit you could've pulled, you picked the absolute worse." Clearly, he was taken aback by this.

"What the hell are you telling about, baby?"

"Oh, no, don't you dare baby me, mister. I asked for you to speak with your lawyer friend about getting Crystal off my back, and you came back and told me that he was looking into it, and would let me know when he had something worked out. I was so damned excited when Crystal stopped harassing me about the money every time I saw her, but, I should've known it would be too good to be true. How in the hell could you do this to me. You bought her off, Eric!"

In my hand, I held a settlement agreement stating that Eric had paid Crystal $750,000 to drop the suit, and never attempt to gain anything else from Gran's estate.

"Sookie, I knew it would be the easiest way to get things done."

"It wasn't your place to do anything about it, Eric. Look, I know that your intentions in this were good, and yes, I'm glad that you wanted to help me. But, you should NOT have gone over my head on this. Jason is getting ready to file for divorce. Do you have any idea how bad this will look? You've basically given her grounds to request spousal support."

Whatever response he was about to make would have to wait, because there was a knock at the door, and Pam stuck her head in. "I truly am terribly sorry to interrupt you two, but, Eric, there's some police officers out here who need to speak with you."

Eric stood up from his desk and walked towards the door, but paused for a moment when he reached me. "This isn't over. We **will** finish this discussion."

"You're damned right we will," I said in a huff.

He went into the reception area, where there were two uniformed officers standing with Pam.

"Officers, I'm Eric Northman, how can I help you?"

"Well, sir, we're gonna need you to come with us," one of the men said. I felt tension building in my chest when he approached Eric and took his handcuffs out. "Eric Northman, you're under arrest for parole violation." As the officer read Eric his Miranda rights, Pam came to stand next to me to keep me from falling over.

I turned to the other officer and said, "Pardon me, sir. But, I'm Mr. Northman's parole worker, and I didn't authorize any warrants. Could you please tell me what this is about?"

"I'm sorry, M'am, we don't have the specifics. All I can do is tell you what judge signed the warrant."

He took out a pad of paper and quickly wrote down the judge's name for me. I told Eric I would call Sam and that we would have all of this straightened out as soon as possible. The last thing I heard Eric say before they took him away was, "Sookie, I love you."


	19. Chapter 19

**SPOV**

"Come on, Sam, pick up your damn phone already," I muttered to myself as I sped along the highway. As soon as the officers had left with Eric handcuffed in their patrol car, Pam and I jumped into my car to head to Hope House and try to get Sam to help us clear this all up. There had to have been some sort of mistake. He wouldn't get arrested on parole violation unless I had signed a warrant issuance form. And I most certainly had **not** signed one.

"Sam Merlotte," said Sam's voice when he answered.

"_**Finally**_. It's about damn time you answered."

"Sookie? What's wrong? Why are you sounding so upset?"

"Sam, I was just at Hell's Inferno speaking with Eric," Pam tried to hold a small giggle when I said I'd been **speaking** to Eric, but in my rage, I ignored it, "and out of nowhere two officers came and arrested him for _**parole violation**_!!"

"What the hell? How was a warrant issued? No judge would sign a warrant without your signature."

"That's what I thought as well, but, I saw the warrant myself. It was signed by Judge Hopkins."

"You're kidding me? Hopkins loves us. He would have no reason to go over our heads on anything. Where are you?"

"I'm on my way to Hope House. Pam is with me."

"Okay, tell ya what, I'll get a hold of Judge Hopkins' office and see what I can find out until you get here, okay?"

I hung up the phone and once again put both hands on the steering wheel, and held on as if my life depended on it. Sam was right, this didn't make sense. Of all the judges that we worked with, Judge Hopkins was the one who trusted our opinions the most. There was something definitely wrong here.

As Pam and I walked through the front doors of Hope House, Sam was standing at the front desk waiting for us.

"I talked to Hopkins personally. He assured me that he would never sign an arrest warrant for one your cases without your approval, so, something's definitely fishy here. He can have a vacate warrant order faxed over to the prison to guarantee Eric's immediate release. But, he needs you to sign the discrepancy form before he can do that."

"Once I sign the form and we get everything faxed, how soon will Eric be released?"

"Well, the clerk at the prison has been told to expect the form, so, as soon as she gets it, they'll turn him loose."

"Okay, then you and Pam go to the prison to pick him up, and I'll go to the courthouse and sign the forms for the Judge. Then we can meet back here afterwards and starting sorting this whole mess out."

Sam nodded, and immediately went to get into his car. Pam, however, hesitated for a moment. "Sookie, listen, for what it's worth, Eric really **did** have only the best of intentions when he offered to pay Crystal off. He said that he'd rather her have money from him than actual money from your family. I know he should've talked to you first, and I warned him several times to tell you what was going on. But, please, give him a chance to tell you what he was thinking when he decided to take this course of action."

I thought for a moment, shook my head, and was surprised to have Pam wrap me into a tight hug. I embraced her back, and heard her chuckle slightly as she whispered in my ear. "See, we're hugging and I'm not even going to try to get you to have sex with me." Oh, that Pam.

She let go of me, squeezed my hand, and ran off to join Sam in his car. I jumped back into mine and made my way to the courthouse as quickly as I could. Once I was inside, I went to Judge Hopkins office as quickly as I possibly could, and knocked. He opened the door immediately.

"Miss Stackhouse, good. I've got all the forms ready, I just need you to sign the discrepancy form, then I'll fax both to the prison, and Mr. Northman should be released fairly quickly."

I took the pen he was holding out for me, and proceeded to sign the form, and watched with relief as he put both of them into his fax machine and sent them off. "Judge, do you have any idea how this happened?"

"I was wondering about that myself. My new assistant had me sign a whole slew of forms earlier today, but, I don't remember her mentioning a warrant for one of your cases. But, the signature stamp shows that it was signed this morning, so, I believe that it was in the stack she'd handed me. I'm not sure if it was an error or not. But you can bet that we'll be researching it in order to find out."

"Well, have you run a background check on your assistant? Maybe it has something to do with her. What's her name?"

"Sophie-Ann LeClerq. And, I did a brief background when she was first hired, but, I've got a clerk running another right now." His phone rang and he held up a finger for me to wait a moment while he answered it. "Yes. Wonderful, thank you so much." He hung up the phone and managed to give me a small smile. "It seems Mr. Northman was just released. Mr. Merlotte said he'd meet you back at Hope House shortly."

"Thank you so much, your honor. I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it my dear."

**EPOV**

I was more than just slightly frustrated at being arrested for parole violation. I knew I hadn't violated. Sookie knew I hadn't violated. So, why was a warrant issued? Mercifully, I wouldn't have to stay behind bars to ponder that for too long.

Less than an hour after I'd been put through the booking process, an officer said that my release form had been received, and I was allowed to leave. Pam and Sam Merlotte were waiting in the lobby area for me. When I reached them, Pam gave me a quick hug, and I reached out to shake Sam's hand.

"Thanks for springing me, Sam," I said with a small smile. "Do we know what happened yet?"

"No, but Sookie had met with the judge who signed the warrant, and I spoke to her a minute ago and she said she'll explain everything when we meet her back at Hope House shortly."

Pam, Sam and I all piled into Sam's small car, and made it back to Hope House in record time. It was obvious that everyone was anxious to get this solved. Obviously, someone was trying to maneuver us around, and none of us were very happy about it.

Once we arrived, Sam led us to his office, and offered each of us a seat and a cup of coffee. Pam sat and flipped through an old magazine that was sitting on Sam's desk, and Sam worked on his computer while I paced back and forth in front of the desk.

After twenty minutes had passed, I began to feel nervous. Sookie should've been here by now. I grabbed my cell phone and dialed her number, only to have it go directly to voicemail. That meant that Sookie's phone was turned off. I just hoped it was because her battery was dead, and not something else.

After another agonizing 30 minutes, Sam's cell phone rang. He answered, but didn't say much in the conversation, just listened. I saw his eyes get wider and his face paler, and knew that whatever the caller was telling him wasn't good. After another moment of silence, Sam simply said thank you, and hung up. He vaulted to his feet faster than I imagined he was capable of.

"Get in my car right now. I'll explain on the way," was all he would say. No, this couldn't be good.

Once we were back in the car, I noticed Sam's eyes watching me in his rear-view mirror. "That was a friend of mine who works as a 911 dispatcher. We need to get to the Shreveport Regional Hospital right away. Sookie's been in an accident." I went cold all over, and felt as if someone had just walked over my grave.

"What kind of accident, Sam?" He looked at me again, and I could see that he was gauging whether or not to tell me. "Sam, I need to know. **Now**."

"She was stopped at a red light. She was rear-ended by another car going at a fast speed, and it pushed her car into the middle of the intersection, and she was hit by another vehicle. Her car rolled twice before finally coming to a stop upside down."

I heard Pam gasp, and I put my hand on her shoulder to try and give comfort, but also, to receive it from her. "Did they say how badly she was hurt?"

"I was told that she is injured, but, it's not nearly as bad as it could've been. She was buckled in, and her car had front and side airbags. I was told that whoever rear-ended her fled the scene. Several witnesses told the police that it looked like they'd hit her on purpose."

I felt rage bubbling inside me, and I saw red. "I'm suddenly starting to wonder if my arrest wasn't part of some master plan to separate and confuse us." I saw Sam nod his head slightly in agreement.

When we got to the hospital, the receptionist in the emergency room told us that Sookie was in surgery, and she told us where we could go to wait for a word with her surgeon. Once we'd arrived at the surgical waiting room, a nurse told us that the surgery that was being performed wasn't anything terribly serious. Her injuries were extremely tame, considering the severity of the impact. A bone in her right thigh had been broken badly enough that it had come through the skin, and an orthopedic surgeon was stabilizing the bone, putting a metal pin in to hold it in place, and should be finished and able to speak with us, soon. Both Pam and Sam relaxed visibly when we got this news. I wished I was able to feel better as well. But, I knew I wouldn't stop worrying until I could see Sookie.

Around 45 minutes later, two doctors entered the waiting room and approached us. "Mr. Northman, Mr. Merlotte?" We nodded our heads to acknowledge our identities. "I'm Dr. Ludwig. I'm the orthopedic surgeon who was working with Miss Stackhouse. I was able to easily repair the damage to the bone and muscles in her leg, and it looks like it will heal up nicely. She was very lucky. The majority of her injuries are superficial. She has several pulled muscles; two broken ribs, and is pretty much covered head to toe in bruises and small scratches. She did hit her head fairly hard on the driver's side window when the car hit her, and, there is a very slight amount of swelling in the brain. Everything shows us though that it will go down, and most likely will not do any permanent damage. It just means that she'll be sleeping for awhile until the swelling is gone." I breathed a sigh of relief, and felt Pam grab my hand. Then, the other doctor spoke.

"Mr. Northman, I'm Dr. Crane. I'm a surgical resident specializing in obstetrics. We've got a fetal monitor on her, and will continue to keep an eye on things, but, it looks like the baby wasn't affected by the crash at all."

I blanched. "I'm sorry, baby?" I felt Pam's grip on my hand tighten.

"Yes, sir. Weren't you aware that she was pregnant? By my measurements, I'd say she's about 6 weeks along."

Good thing there was a chair directly behind me, because I was no longer capable of standing.

**A/N I know, I know, another cliff hanger ending. Yes, I'm well aware of the fact that I am cruel. I enjoy it, thank you very much. I hope to have the next chapter up within the next 12 hours. So, go ahead and review and give me your thoughts!!**


	20. Chapter 20

**SPOV**

As I pulled out of the courthouse parking lot, I couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that I was missing something. It's like something was right there in front of my face, but it was obscured, so I couldn't quite make it out. I knew there was more to Eric getting arrested than a simple mistake. I just couldn't put my finger on what it was.

I was stopped at a red light, and was only vaguely watching for the light to turn green. I kept turning things over and over in my head, trying to get a grasp on what I **knew** that I knew.

And that's when it hit me. "Holy shit! Sophie-Ann." Just as I was reaching for my cell phone to call Sam and Eric, I felt a jolt, followed by intense pain. My car had been pushed forward into the intersection, and my airbag had been deployed. Just when my eyes were starting to refocus, I heard a car horn, and turned to my right to see an SUV barreling towards me. I knew they didn't have enough time to stop. They were going to hit me, and they were going **very** fast. As I waited for the impact, I simply closed my eyes, pictured Eric's face, and told him I loved him. I felt another sharp jerk, and then nothing.

I could hear voices coming from all sides. I wanted desperately to open my eyes, but my body just wouldn't cooperate. I felt strange all over. I wasn't in pain; it was more like heaviness. Like my muscles were suddenly filled with lead, too bulky for me to move at all. I heard a few words that made sense: ambulance; heartbeat; broken bone; blood; hospital. Then, more nothing.

"Any change?" _Sam! I can hear you Sam. You're so close._ I tried to open my eyes, move my hand, say something, and just **do anything** to tell him I was here. But, nothing worked. I was still filled with lead. But, this time, I was much more comfortable. Again, nothing.

"How long has it been since the doctor said the swelling had subsided?" _Sam, it's you again. Swelling? What swelling. Someone tell me what's going on. What happened? I got hit by another car but why do I feel like I'm full of lead? _"About 6 hours, the doctor said they wouldn't start to really worry until it had been at least 24, though." _Pam! Pam! Pam, please hear me. _"What about Eric? Is he…?" _Is he what, Sam? What are you asking about? What's wrong with Eric? Oh, please somebody tell me what's wrong._ "I just don't know, Sam. He won't talk to me. He'll only sit here with her if he's alone. I wish he'd stay more often, I know he'll hate himself if he isn't here when she finally wakes up." More nothing.

It wasn't a voice this time that caught my attention. It was a feeling. A presence. I didn't know how, but somehow I just **knew** that Eric was here with me. I felt a cold, wet sensation on my arm, as if someone had dripped water on me. After another moment, I felt it again. Then I felt fingers entangle with mine, and squeeze gently. I didn't need to see or hear anything to know, Eric was holding my hand. I heard a faint sniffle, and realized the drops were tears. Eric was crying.

"Come on Sookie, I need you to open your eyes for me." _I'm trying, Eric, I'm trying so hard._ "Come on, damnit. I need you. I can't loose you like this. I'm not going to loose you like I lost Cindy." _You'll never loose me, Eric. Just help me. Help me wake up. Help me tell you I'm here._ "Come on baby, I need you. I need you to open your eyes." _I'm trying honey, I'm trying. I can't do it. I can't open my eyes. Aaahh, I just want to scream! I want to hit something. Anything. I want to hit it __**hard**__. Wait, what was that?_ "Sookie? Come on baby, do it again. Squeeze my hand, baby. You can do it, I know you can." _I need to tell Eric I'm here. I don't want him to be sad anymore. Come on stupid hand, move, damnit. __**Move now!!**_ "That's it baby, you've got it. Now try to open your eyes. Come on Sook, you can do it. Open your eyes." _I can't do it, Eric. No matter how hard I try they just won't open. This isn't fair. I just want to see you again. Eric. Eric. Eric. Eric. _"Eric." _Was out loud? _"Sookie, baby, I hear you. Come on, love. Do it again. Say my name." _Eric. Eric. Eric. _"Eric."

And then, just like that, it happened. My eyes opened. I saw my Eric. He was smiling through tears. God, how I'd missed that face.

"There you are love. Thank God." He bent down and placed a tender kiss to my lips. He let go of my hand and went towards the door. I moaned softly, I didn't want him to leave. "It's okay, Sookie. I'm coming right back. I'm just going to go get the doctor, okay?" He left without waiting for an answer. But, just as he promised, he returned quite quickly. He stood by my bed, holding my hand, while calling both Pam and Sam to let them know I was awake. A few minutes later, the door opened and two doctors walked in. The first was a shortish, middle-aged, and distinguished looking man. The second was tall and stunningly gorgeous female with long black hair.

"Well, welcome back Miss Stackhouse," the man said. "I'm Dr. Edgington, and I'm a neuro-surgeon. You had us worried when you didn't wake up."

"How long have I been here?"

"6 days. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was driving in my car, and someone hit me from behind, and pushed me into an intersection, and I got side-swiped by an SUV."

"Yes, yes you did. But you were very lucky and didn't sustain many injuries. I want to keep you one more night for observation, but, after that, I see no reason to keep you, unless…" and with this, he turned to the tall female doctor.

"No, I think she should be able to go home tomorrow just fine. Sookie, I'm Dr. Crane with obstetrics." Wait, did she just say obstetrics? But that couldn't be possible. Could it? "We've had you on a fetal monitor, and your baby's heart rate seems to be doing just fine." Oh. My. God. Is she for real?

Eric must've seen the look on my face, because he leaned down, kissed my temple and said, "that's right, Sookie. You're going to have a baby." Any reaction I may have had at that moment was interrupted by Sam and Pam quickly entering the room. Both had looks of immense relief on their faces when they saw that I was, indeed, awake.

"Oh, you had us so worried, Sookie. You have no idea how wonderful it is to see your beautiful eyes open again." Sam almost looked like he was going to tear up. He was so sweet. I sure am lucky to have him as a friend.

Pam leaned down to give me a sort of half hug and a kiss on the cheek. As she leaned back up I said, "Give it up, Pam. I'm not gonna have sex with you, so stop trying." Both Pam and Eric burst into laughter, which left Sam eyeing us all oddly.

Over the course of the next hour, the three of them more or less filled me in on what I had missed. According to witnesses, a car purposefully rear-ended me, causing me to end up in the middle of an intersection. The person who had hit me first had fled the scene. However, there were several witnesses to the crime, and although they didn't have a full license plate number, they had the vehicles make, model, and color. Eric told me that he thought that his arrest under false pretences might have been involved.

"Speaking of Eric's accidental arrest. Sam, will you do me a favor? Next time you're at work, bring me the box labeled 'Bill Compton' with you? I think I may have found a connection, but I want to look into it before I make any rash decisions."

"Sure thing, Sookie. I'll have them ready and waiting for you when you get back in. Speaking of which, though, I'm gonna need to take off. I'm on duty tonight and need to get back before room check." He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and left.

Not long after Sam left, I began to feel exhausted. I was confused as to why, because I'd just woken up from being asleep for so long. I guess it was just my body's way of telling me to take it easy. I fell asleep that night holding Eric's hand, listening to him hum softly.

I was released from the hospital the next day, and regardless of whether not I liked the idea, Sam and Eric informed me that I had no choice in the matter. I was being put on bed rest for the time being. I was to stay in bed at Eric's house, and even though I wasn't allowed to get up very much, they let me have my laptop so I could get some work done, knowing I'd go stir crazy without something to work on.

As promised, Sam brought over all of the files that were in my office on Bill Compton's case. I searched and searched for the specific information I was looking for. When I found it, I yelled for Eric.

"What is it, love? Did you find something?"

"You bet your gorgeous ass I did! Okay, Judge Hopkins said that his new clerk gave him the warrant to sign with a bunch of other paperwork to sign, and he didn't realize he was signing an arrest warrant for one of my cases. When he told me his clerk's name, something seemed familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then, just before the accident, I remembered. See," I should him the form I was looking at, "just before Bill was arrested for grand theft auto, a birth certificate was filed in the state of New Jersey listing Bill Compton as the father, and Arlene Fowler as the mother. The background check that was run on Arlene said she had a sister, Sophie-Ann. By the time Bill was arrested, Sophie-Ann had been married and divorced 3 times, but had taken her first husbands name, legally changing it to Sophie-Ann LeClerq." He seemed impressed by what I'd been able to dig up.

"Okay, so now we know how the warrant came to be issued. But, why?"

"What make and model did the police say the car that hit me was?"

"A green Toyota corolla. Why, what are you thinking?"

"Well, it looks like," I said as I was accessing the DMV database. "Yup! There is a 1998 green Toyota corolla registered to Arlene Fowler."

"Yeah, but, that still doesn't explain who was giving them personal information about you and Quinn."

"True. Let's see. Quinn and I broke up when you first got paroled, so, let's see if anyone who was working or staying at Hope House and left shortly before that time has any connections to these two."

I spent the next three hours going over the personnel forms Sam had given me for Hope House. Just when I was about ready to give up, I struck gold. "Eric, this is it! This is the informer!"

I showed him a completed employment application form. "We had a part-time janitor named Charles Twining who quit working there two weeks before you got paroled. His emergency contact form says his next of kin is his common-law wife, Sophie-Ann LeClerq!"

Eric called Sam and had him come over to look at the information we'd discovered. Sam told us he would get it to the police department right away. Just as we were getting ready to go to sleep that evening, Sam phoned and said that Arlene, Sophie-Ann and Charles had all been arrested for attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder.

As Eric held me close to him in bed, I said, "I can't believe it's finally over. No more looking over my shoulder, wondering who is going to be trying to kill me or beat me up. It's finally over!"

Eric smiled at me, and placed a very tender, very heartfelt kiss to my lips. "Eric, I want to ask you something, and I want you to answer me as honestly as you can, okay?"

"Alright." I could practically hear the apprehension in his voice.

"How are you feeling about the pregnancy?" I was terrified of his answer.

"Well, I'm glad that you are going to be able to fulfill your dream of having children. I know how upset it made you not knowing if it was possible."

"Okay, I get that. But, how do **you** feel about all of this?"

"I don't think I see where you're going with this, Sookie."

"Well, when I was in the hospital, and the doctor first told me I was pregnant, you saw that I was having a hard time believing it. So, you leaned in and told me that it was true, that I was having a baby."

"Yes, I remember."

"Well, that's just the thing. You said **I** was having a baby. Not **we** were having a baby."

He stayed silent for a few moments. I didn't want to upset him, but, I really needed to know how he felt about this. "Honestly Sookie, I don't know. I'm excited about seeing you be a mother, and, I'm ultra excited to see what a child that was made by you and I looks like. But, at the same time, I can't help but feel like I'm trying to replace Lizzie and Mattie."

"Oh, Eric, no. Our baby could never take the place of your children. They will always be special, and, in a way, they will always be here with us because you will always keep them in your heart."

"I know, love. And, I'm trying to think about it that way, truly I am. I think it's just going to take me some time to really get used to the idea. I hope you understand."

"Of course I do. I love you, Eric."

"I love you, too." He pressed his lips to mine, and I felt the passion grow hotter and hotter. We made love for the first time since the accident. It was spectacular.

**A/N Well, there you have it lovelies, my second update of the day (even though it's technically after midnight). There will only be one, possibly two, more chapters until we get to the ending. Enjoy!!!**


	21. Chapter 21

**SPOV**

"Eric, will you do me a favor and grab my tennis shoes from the closet for me?" I was running late, and needed to get on the road as soon as possible.

"Yup, sure." He grabbed my shoes, handed them to me, and then bent and kissed the top of my head. "If I'm only going to be working half a day today, I need to get over to the bar. I'm meeting you at the doctor's office at 2pm, right?" Eric was slipping on his jacket while he confirmed my appointment.

"Right. 2pm in the lobby."

He nodded, winked, and left. He was starting to get used to the idea of being a father again, even though it was obvious that he still has reservations. He was being very supportive of me, but I knew that he just needed a little more time.

Today, he was going to meet me at the doctor's office, and we would get to find out if we were going to have a boy or a girl. I was both nervous and very excited at the same time. Excited, because I just couldn't wait to know. Nervous, because I knew that no matter what, Eric would find out that I'd been keeping a secret from him.

But, I had some business to attend to first. Today was Hadley's birthday. Every year on this day, Jason and I would meet at the cemetery to put her favorite flowers on her grave, and then we would go to her favorite diner and have lunch and reminisce about how wonderful our cousin was.

I was surprised to see Jason's car in the cemetery parking lot when I pulled in. He'd never beaten me there before. Normally, I was five minutes early, and he was 10 minutes late. As I walked to meet him, I tried not to remember my last encounter in this cemetery. I had no desire to remember the events that led to Eric killing Bill.

"Jason, you were early?" He turned to me and half smiled, knowing I was expressing my shock.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. That never happens, right? I just really needed to talk to Hadley and Gran alone for a few minutes." Jason and I were never really religious, but, we always believed that when we were at the cemetery visiting our loved ones, we could speak to them, and somehow, they would answer us in our hearts.

"Why? What's up big brother?"

"Well, Sook, I have a hard decision to make. I made a promise to someone to keep a secret for them. Well, I've kept my word so far. But, if I continue to do so, that person will just get into more and more trouble over. So, I'm trying to decide if the right thing to do is to tell the truth, or keep my word."

"And what have Gran and Hadley told you to do?"

"They told me to follow my heart. I just haven't figured out what my heart's telling me yet." I nodded, and stood next to him, taking his hand in mine. We stood there, taking comfort in each other's presence while we remembered all the loved ones we'd lost along the way.

We didn't speak much at the cemetery, and I could tell he was still trying to make a decision by the time we got to the restaurant. Shortly after the waitress had taken our order, he turned to me, and I could tell he was getting ready to say something quite important.

"Sookie, listen, I need to tell you the truth about something. I know you're gonna be mad at me, but, I just ask that you let me get it all out in the open before you lay in on me, okay?" I'd never seen him this serious before. I motioned for him to proceed.

"I know that I made a huge mistake in marrying Crystal. I guess I was just stupid, and was thinkin' with my johnson rather than my brain." Now there was the understatement of the year. "It's one thing for me to have to pay for the mistake I made. But, you've been paying for it, too, and that just ain't right. Sook, I know that you got really upset with Eric because he paid her off, but I want you to know that it wasn't his idea." Oh, boy. I did not like where this was headed. "He did it because I asked him to."

"How? Why? You've never even MET Eric, Jason."

"Sam gave me his phone number after he saved your life in the cemetery. I called him on the phone and told him that you and I didn't really see much of each other because there was bad blood due to the whole Crystal situation. But, that I was very grateful that he'd rescued you, because you were the only family I had left. He told me that Crystal had shown up at the farmhouse while you two were there, and that she was threatening you, asking me money again. He told me that I needed to man up and take care of my wife, so she'd leave you alone. Of course, me being the dumb shit that I am, I made a big deal about how I was never able to control Crystal. He said that maybe I should find someone who could and ask for help. So, I asked him if he could get her off your back. He told me that he would, but, he said that he didn't want you to find out about it, ever. He said he knew that I was your only living family, and he couldn't bear to see you loose me, after everything else you'd lost, and that if you found out, you'd probably tell me to take a flying leap."

"He was right."

"I know. He loves you, Sook. He's a good man."

"I know."

I was lost in thought as I made my way back to Shreveport for my doctor's appointment. Now, I was even more nervous about my doctor's appointment with Eric. Not only did I owe him a huge apology about the way I'd handled the Crystal situation before, but, I had to admit to him that I'd kept him in the dark about something very important.

When I got to the doctor's office, Eric was already there waiting for me. I signed in at the front desk, and sat down next to him. I took his face in my hands, and placed a soft kiss on his lips. I pulled back just enough to look into his eyes and said, "Jason told me everything. I wish you'd told me the truth."

"Sookie, I…" but I interrupted his thought.

"No, Eric. It's okay. I was wrong to be mad at you. I still think you shouldn't have done it, but, now that I know your reasoning, I can't blame you at all. And I'm sorry I was so upset with you."

Just as he was about to say something else, the nurse called my name. We stood, and walked hand-in-hand to the ultrasound room. I lay down on the examination table, and the nurse began setting up the machine. A moment later Dr. Crane came in, turned off the overhead light, and flipped on the ultrasound machine. She squirted the cold, blue jelly onto my bare stomach, and said, "Okay, let's have a look, shall we?"

I reached out and grabbed Eric's hand. I had thought I would have time to speak with him before we got to this point, but, there was nothing I could do about that now.

As we looked at the large computer screen with the ultrasound image on it, I felt Eric squeeze my hand as the familiar shape of an arm and a hand came into view. "Alright," Dr. Crane said and she moved to get a better angle. "Let me point out what we're seeing. Obviously, you can see a hand here, and over here," she said moving again, "we can see a little bit of a face." She paused, turned to look me in the eye and said, "Sookie, this is going to be a beautiful little boy." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eric stare in awe at the first image of our son. But, then Dr. Crane moved to the other side of my belly, wiggled things around a bit, and said, "And it looks like baby #2 is going to be a girl."

The slight smile that had begun to creep up on Eric's face was gone in that instant. He just stared at the screen, not moving. I asked Dr. Crane if she would give us a minute alone, and she said she'd be back in a few minutes to talk to me.

"Twins?" Eric asked.

"Yup, twins. I found out two weeks ago. I knew I should've told you, but, something made me hold back. I'm so sorry, Eric. Here I've been so upset about you keeping secrets from me, and then I go and keep a major one from you."

"Wow." It almost seemed like he couldn't think of anything else to say. And I was not about to pressure him into talking to me about it. I knew that this was something major that he was going to need to process. So, I just let him be silent. Dr. Crane came back a few minutes later to take some measurements and make sure everything else was okay. She printed out a few photos from the ultrasound, and told me she'd see me again in a month.

Eric and I left the doctor's office separately, because he said he had to go back to work. I knew part of it was that he'd want to talk to Pam about what he'd just learned, but also, he probably wanted some time away from me to think about things. I was starting to worry when it got to be 11pm and he still wasn't home. But, Pam called me and said that they had been talking about a lot of things, and that he'd fallen asleep on her couch. I wasn't surprised, but, I was a little hurt, and I felt guilty for feeling that way.

I called Eric's cell phone the next morning to remind him that I was going to be out of town for the next two days for some work-related training in Baton Rouge, but, he didn't answer, so I just left him a message. I did call Pam though, and she said she'd make sure he remembered. She told me congratulations about the twins, so, I knew that she and Eric had discussed it already.

**EPOV**

When I had found out that Sookie and I were going to be having twins, I just about lost it. I told her that I understood why she'd kept it from me, and I truly did. I wouldn't have wanted to tell me either, especially knowing how I'd been reacting to the entire pregnancy itself. I told Pam about my new discovery, and she told me to come to her place after work, because she wanted to talk to me about it.

"Eric, listen, I know this is hard for you. I know that you feel that if Lizzie and Mattie could see you right now, they'd think you were trying to replace them. But, that's not true. They would want you to be happy."

"Pam, listen, I know you loved them as if they were your own, but, please don't try to tell me how my own children would feel."

"Damnit, Eric, I'll say it 100 times if I have to. Think about it. Would they want for these two little babies to go through life with an almost non-existent father, just because of something that happened long before their lives even started?" Okay, so she did have a point, there.

"Eric, I know you miss them. I miss them, too. But, moving on with your life isn't forgetting them." I'm sure she could see the skepticism on my face, because she started to get more forceful as she continued. "Eric, Cindy was more than just my sister. She was my best friend. She and I shared everything in our lives, from the day we were born until the day she died." She paused, and I saw her wipe a tear away from her eye. "When we lost her, I thought I'd never have that kind of companionship, and friendship with another person during my lifetime. But, then when you met Sookie, that all changed. She has become my friend. She has become my sister. She hasn't replaced Cindy. She's not a better friend or sister than Cindy. She's just different. And, I know that Cindy would want me to have someone to make my life fun again."

She was right. Cindy, Lizzie and Mattie wouldn't want me to spend the rest of my life moping around being sad. They'd want me to get on with my future, and remember all the wonderful times we'd had in the past. I knew what I had to do. And I didn't have long to do it.

**SPOV**

After two days of training, and a long drive home, I was exhausted and ready to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. I was somewhat confused when I arrived home and saw several delivery vehicles in the drive.

I parked my car in the garage, and began looking for Eric. When I found him, I felt my heart swell, and my eyes tear up. He'd opened up Lizzie and Mattie's bedrooms, and had bought new cribs, rocking chairs, and anything else we could possibly need. He set one room up as a nursery, and the other as a changing room of sorts. There were painters busy painting a beautiful mural on the walls. Eric was directing the delivery men where to put new furniture, and almost looked like he'd been caught like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar when he finally saw me standing there.

When he came to stand in front of me, I wrapped my arms around him, and we just stood there, holding each other for what seemed like hours. I kissed him, thanked him, and whispered that I loved him. With a smile, he turned to the delivery men and asked that they excuse the two of us for a while, picked me up, and carried me to our bedroom.

A couple of hours later, after another wonderful round of love making, I lay with my head on his chest, lazily tracing circles on his stomach.

"Sookie?"

"Yeah honey?"

"Your Dad's name was Ryan, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, I know we haven't discussed names at all yet, but, I kinda have an idea."

I hadn't expected this from him so soon. "Oh yeah? Tell me."

"Well, I was thinking Ryan Matthew, and Hadley Elizabeth." I sat up, and couldn't help tears from spilling over when I looked at him.

"That's perfect, Eric. I don't think we ever could've come up with anything better." He kissed me, and rolled so he was on top of me, and I could feel his desire against my stomach.

"Wait," I said, and noticed that he didn't like the idea of waiting.

"For what?"

"I want to ask you something."

He indicated that he was waiting, but not very patiently. "Marry me?"

He smiled, and laughed loudly. "Isn't it supposed to be me who asks you that?"

"Yeah, but, since when have we ever done anything conventionally?"

"That is true my love. Of course I'll marry you. There's nothing in this world that I want more than to have you as my wife."

He kissed me fully, and in that moment, I knew that my life was finally complete.

**_THE END_**

**A/N Thanks so much for everyone who has been supportive with this story. I've had a lot of fun writing it. A few people have asked if I'm going to be starting something new soon. Yes, I am. I've got a couple of things in mind, but, I'm first going to see if I can flesh out an entry for the Eric and His Great Pumpkin contest. Thank you for the wonderful reviews, you guys really are the best!!!**


End file.
